"Having a septic patient recently under my care in the ICU setting, I knew that costs of lab tests would be sky high for a patient and their family that was under a very high deductible health plan. In hearing the families concern right away about the cost of a hospital stay, I knew that they had to be informed about potential cost of daily lab tests during the stay. I sat the spouse and children down in a consultation meeting to talk about the needed diagnostic tests for sepsis. I explained the medical necessity of the hospital stay and the lab tests to help treat the condition moving forward. I also talked about costs of the tests. By being up front and honest right away, the family was very appreciative as they wouldn't be face with the shock of billing once the patient was healed and discharged."
