Researching parameters for when follow-up visits are recommended could save the U.S. health system billions of dollars, according to commentary in The American Journal of Managed Care.
The article investigated patterns of, timing and reasons for follow-up visits for patients with one of the top five reasons for outpatient visits in 2010: mental disorder, back problems, arthritis, chronic obstruct pulmonary disease/asthma and hypertension. Together, outpatient visits for these conditions cost $281 billion in 2010.
Sign up for our FREE E-Weekly for more coverage like this sent to your inbox!
For hypertension, which accounted for $13.03 billion in outpatient costs in 2010, researchers determined extending the follow-up visit time from six months to seven months after an initial appointment could decrease visits 15 percent per year and save $682 million. Extending the visit to nine months would cut annual visits 34 percent and save $1.5 billion. Having only an annual follow-up would cut visits 50 percent and save $2.3 billion.
Considering the large amount of money that could be saved, researchers suggested physicians begin to collect data on health outcomes and timing of follow-up visits in order to schedule the minimum safe number of follow-up visits and reap maximum potential savings to the system.
More Articles on Quality:
Kidney Injuries in Patients With PCI Can Be Deadly
More Geriatric Trauma Patients Predicts Better Outcomes