By Caren BaginskiWe expect journalists to be unbiased.
We expect food labels to tell us exactly how many grams of fat we're consuming.
We expect presidential candidates to report their fundraising sums, right down to the giver and the penny.
Open disclosure is nothing new, but when it comes to health care,
do patients really care about their doctors' industry ties? A Jan. 5
American Medical News article tackles this issue, citing the Cleveland Clinic and University of Pennsylvania's intent to publicly disclose their physicians' financial relationships.
Take a look at any doctor bio on the Cleveland Clinic Web site (
I chose one at random) and you'll find an "Industry Relationships" section. According to the article, about 25 percent of doctors have something significant to list, which means they made more than $5,000 extra in a year. Anything less won't be recorded.
The intended audience of this information is ultimately patients. Ideally, they'd learn about these industry relationships before choosing their doctors. But the first stop for a new patient is usually a health insurance Web site.
Patients select by name, location or specialty, not by how much money a doctor makes. And if a patient knew about a doctor's ties to a third party, would that sway him or her from a return visit if the patient has seen that doctor their entire life?
It seems like patients have more on their minds than their doctors making money outside of the practice. What do you think?
Should health care make a big deal out of public disclosure? Caren Baginski is MGMA's Web Content Writer/Editor.
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