The cost is often unclear to physicians, too. medical system pricing is complex, making it difficult for patients and families to predict what hospital care is likely to cost them. “Part of what we hope this paper will do is to serve as a wake-up call to say, ‘We have to better counsel families on the anticipated cost of their child’s care,’” said Hannah Bassett, MD, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and the study’s lead author. The research team surveyed 526 parents of inpatients at six pediatric academic medical centers across the United States. 21 in JAMA Network Open, is the first large assessment of parents’ preferences about receiving financial counseling when their children are hospitalized. The study’s authors said their finding boosts the argument that patients and their families need better access to financial counselors at hospitals. Three-quarters of parents whose children are hospitalized want to talk to a hospital staff member about the projected cost of their child’s medical care, but less than 10% of families have such conversations, according to a new study led by Stanford Medicine researchers.
