Is It Time For Some ‘Comparison Shopping’?

Comparison shopping – a long-time staple in other fields – is coming to health care. And for health and human service organizations, the specter of comparison shopping brings a few competitive challenges.

Comparison shopping – the practice of comparing the price of services before buying – is "a natural" from a health care policy perspective. Facilitating transparency about fees and features that allows consumers, referral sources, and payers to make informed choices about programs, facilities, and professionals is generally thought to decrease overall costs and increase consumer satisfaction. And estimates of the savings to the health care system due to transparency are staggering . . .