Changing physician behavior is tool to reduce health care costs.

Hospital administrators in the next decade will be looking at every avenue to reduce health care costs at the suggestion of the payers and patients. What is the role of physicians in such an effort? In the following article, the authors discuss the pros and cons of influencing physician practice patterns to cut excesses and improve quality of care. They summarize the "influencing strategies" and explain why some of them will create opposition among practitioners.