AJMC® in the Press, July 7, 2017

A PatientEngagementHIT.com article summarized the findings of a study that appeared in the June issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC®). In “Patients’ Views on Price Shopping and Price Transparency,” researchers interviewed individuals who had access to a price transparency tool and found that while they had positive opinions of price shopping, they rarely used the tool. “Ultimately, patients need better guidance from the healthcare industry while using price transparency tools,” the PatientEngagementHIT.com article concluded.

^®. The article "How Do Medicare Advantage Beneficiary Payments Vary With Tenure?" found that beneficiaries paid more in excess of the lowest-cost plan the longer they were enrolled in their plans. "

While some enrollees may intentionally choose higher-cost plans, the option to passively re-enroll in the same plan year after year may help explain these findings," the AHRQ newsletter summarized.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) News Now e-newsletter on Wednesday highlighted another study from the June issue of AJMC

An article on PatientEngagementHIT.com cited AJMC^® research to discuss how technology tools like patient portals can help boost engagement. The referenced study, “Patients’ Preferences for Receiving Laboratory Test Results,” was published in the April issue of AJMC^® and found that 98% of participants preferred to receive a text message when their laboratory test results were ready.