Dr. Hoot shows how the My Medical Shopper app lets patients compare prices for medical tests and save money. Pete saved $172 on an x-ray, Jeff saved over $5,500 on a stress test. The app shows insurer prices, quality scores, and rewards for choosing cheaper providers.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Dr. Hoot, and here to help you save money on medical tests and procedures using My Medical Shopper. My patient Pete had fallen and hurt his wrist. I suspected a fracture, so I recommended that he have an x-ray. Pete told me he had a high deductible health plan and his employer had signed him up for My Medical Shopper to help reduce his out-of-pocket medical expenses. Using the My Medical Shopper app on his smartphone, Pete searched for wrist and then selected x-ray exam of the wrist. Then, just as easy as searching with Google, he was able to instantly see a list of facilities within his selected 25-mile radius where he could get his x-ray. Pete could have also extended the search radius based on how far he was willing to travel. For Pete's search, iMedicalshopper displayed 8 providers where prices ranged from $45 to $217 for the wrist x-ray he needed. The displayed prices were based on actual medical claims data and showed the total amounts paid to providers through commercial health insurance, so it was reflective of the insurance-negotiated discounts. It turned out that the lowest-cost provider was in his network and just down the street. However, Pete was concerned that the lower-cost provider might not deliver the same care as the more expensive ones. I assured Pete that numerous studies have shown no correlation between the amount paid for a medical procedure and the quality of care. To help with that concern, My Medical Shopper shows ProScore on the right side of each search result as an indicator of quality. The ProScore indicates how specialized a provider is at the specific procedure being searched, as well as how often they perform the given procedure versus other providers in the area. ProScore ranges from 1 to 100, with the highest scores being highlighted with gold ribbons. Pete's employer also contributes My Medical Rewards to his HRA to reward him for smart shopping. Notice that $44 in rewards is shared with him for using the lowest cost provider. Pete can only earn rewards if he goes to a provider where the price is below the reference price for that procedure. Pete worked with my receptionist to schedule an x-ray at the low-cost provider, which saved him $172 from what it would have cost for the exact procedure at the highest-cost provider. Another patient, Jeff, was in for his annual physical and mentioned that his father died of heart disease. Given his family history, I suggested that he go for a nuclear stress test to determine his cardiovascular health. Jeff's employer had also signed him up for My Medical Shopper, so he grabbed his smartphone, went to the My Medical Shopper app, and searched for stress. Jeff then selected nuclear stress test and was presented 14 providers where prices ranged from $1,052 to $6,555 for the procedure. Jeff ended up scheduling his nuclear stress test with the lowest cost provider, which happened to be a nationally known clinic, and saved over $5,500 in out-of-pocket costs. Pete and Jeff are just 2 of my many patients who were able to save hundreds of dollars using My Medical Shopper. These savings are real, so I encourage all my patients to talk to their employer about getting My Medical Shopper added to their benefit package. If everyone was a responsible medical consumer, we could save more than $850 billion across the United States. Yes, $850 billion a year could be saved nationally simply by getting high-quality care at lower-cost providers. For more information, please visit our website www.mymedicalshopper.com or contact sales@mymedicalshopper.com. If you are an existing customer, please contact support@mymedicalshopper.com. Thank you for watching and becoming a smart medical consumer.
