Physician-Patient Communication Regarding Patients' Healthcare Costs in the U.S.: A Systematic Review of the Literature

The increasing cost of healthcare is a major issue for U.S. policymakers and patients and their families.  To date, little research has focused on physician-patient communication about healthcare costs. This systematic review identifies themes present in that literature and synthesizes findings. PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Communication and Mass Media Complete were searched to identify articles regarding physician-patient communication about healthcare costs. The search yielded twenty-four articles based on inclusion criteria. Empirical findings showed that most physicians and patients were open to discussion about costs; however, few actual conversations were reported across research studies. Most of the research on physician-patient communication about healthcare costs explored issues of non-adherence and identified relevant communication barriers. Research on physician-patient communication about healthcare costs currently lacks evidence-based strategies for increasing and improving these discussions. Physicians and patients judge communication about healthcare costs to be important and to have the potential to influence health and financial outcomes; however, discussions between physicians and patients on the topic are rare.