Maryland unveils hospital guide

In a move that fits the growing trend toward consumer-driven healthcare, Maryland has expanded its state guide to hospitals to include price comparisons on many procedures. Officials hope that by allowing consumers to compare procedure prices, they will make more cost-effective decisions. They also hope to include more information on hospital quality. For example, the new guide lists often each hospital used antibiotics to prevent infections among hip, knee and colon surgery patients. "Like it or not, we're on our way to a more retail health system," Greg Scandlen, president and CEO of Consumers for Health Care Choices, told the Baltimore Sun. "It's essential for patients to know what the price is going to be when they open their wallet."

Several states already offer hospital or other healthcare quality information, including New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Maine, Florida and Indiana. Meanwhile, Medicare, BCBS and Aetna recently announced programs aimed at enabling consumer-driven health plans. While some people agree that these high-deductible CDHPs as the key to getting high health costs under control, other claim the programs solve nothing and shift too much cost to the consumer. But whether you believe in them or not, the current trend toward transparency suggests that CDHPs are beginning to take root.

- see this Baltimore Sun article for more information
- to read the Maryland hospital guide, look here