Many patients let the doctor decide

“Informing consumers” has become a buzzword in health care as a panoply of government agencies, quality rating firms, employer coalitions and consumer groups have sought to arm patients with information about hospital quality.

Now a national survey of 500 randomly selected Medicare patients by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School has found that nearly one-third of those who underwent major non-emergency surgery reported that their doctor had been the sole decision-maker about which hospital to choose.

That number was greater than the 27% who said that they or their families had made the decision. The remaining 42% said they had decided along with their doctor.

The study, which appears in the March issue of the Archives of Surgery, is believed to be the first to analyze the role of patients in making such a decision.