SPOTLIGHT: Fighting the testing temptation

It's tough to avoid the temptation to do more tests when testing pays a lot more than hands-on care, notes Wall Street Journal columnist and family physician Dr. Benjamin Brewer. With an office visit paying an average of $69, but a hospital-based colonoscopy paying $478 (with no office overhead), Brewer has all of the incentive in the world to order colonoscopies rather than build relationships with patients. Unfortunately, what's good for business can be bad for medicine, he says. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

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