Study Says Costs Lower when Patients Share in Decisions on Surgeries

By Patrick Reilly, WorkCompCentral CorrespondentThe practice of educating patients and providing decision aids before surgery is resulting in fewer procedures and lower costs, according to a new study, but the workers’ compensation industry is lagging behind in providing injured workers with options for treatment, industry experts say.A recent study published in Health Affairs found that implementing shared decision making for patients considering knee- and hip-replacement surgeries resulted in more patients deciding against the procedures. The patients, who were not involved in workers&...