Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Need A New Knee? That'll Be $11K -- Or $70K, Depending On Where You Live
USA Today: Surgery Costs Vary Wildly -- Even In Same Area
The cost of having a knee or hip replaced varies wildly and can be up to four times more in one place than another -— even in the same area, a report out Wednesday found. A total knee replacement averaged about $31,000 in 64 markets where Blue Cross Blue Shield analyzed its claims data. But in Dallas, it ranged from $16,772 to $61,584.86. Across the USA, knee replacements costs as little as $11,317 in Montgomery, Ala., and as much as $69,654 in New York City. (O'Donnell and Ungar, 1/21)
Modern Healthcare: Docs Make Fewer Diagnostic Mistakes In Teams, Study Finds
Teamwork may be one way to help reduce the incidence of diagnostic mistakes, in which patients' conditions are missed, delayed or diagnosed incorrectly, a study suggests. When two doctors worked together, their confidence in a diagnosis was boosted and their determination was more accurate. One out of every 20 U.S. adults could be misdiagnosed during outpatient visits, and about half of those errors could prove to be harmful, recent estimates find. (Rice, 1/20)
