Title: Pricing transparency in healthcare for the underserved: a lesson from the Persian Gulf

Authors: Nelson King

Addresses: Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut, Bliss St, Beirut 1107 2020, Lebanon

Abstract: Transparent pricing is one mechanism purported to make healthcare more affordable in the ongoing debate to lower healthcare costs. The experience of a small hospital located in the Persian Gulf that integrated an outpatient physician order entry and billing system offers several lessons. First, IT can enable transparent pricing such that clinicians can make real-time treatment decisions that include treatment cost as a criterion. Second, a focus on pricing transparency alters the integration trajectory for healthcare information systems. While IT may enable price transparency in the examination room, technology is limited in addressing the ethical underpinning of its use.

Keywords: IT integration; healthcare technology; information technology; transparent pricing; electronic medical records; electronic health records; EHRs; payment modes; e-health; electronic healthcare; treatment cost; healthcare information systems; ethics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHTM.2010.033275

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 2010 Vol.11 No.1/2, pp.66 - 78

Published online: 16 May 2010 *

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