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The Center for Patient Partnerships, based at University of Wisconsin Law School, received a $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study how patients’ loyalty to their doctors affects decisions about health services.

According to Rachel Grob, CPP’s director of national initiatives, “There is clear evidence that a number of common medical tests and procedures are unnecessary, and that a subset of these can actually be harmful. Our new project focuses on understanding how patients think about services of low or questionable value, and what factors might predispose them to avoid excess treatment.”

Grob will co-lead the two-year study with Mark Schlesinger of Yale University. CPP Director Meg Gaines and Associate Director Sarah Davis will also provide guidance.

Phase one of the research will explore how patients perceive routinely ordered, potentially invasive health services, as opposed to less invasive options. Later phases will examine how patients' commitment to their physicians influences their choices regarding these services.

CPP is affiliated with the University of Wisconsin Schools of Law, Medicine & Public Health, Nursing and Pharmacy. Its mission is to create effective partnerships among people seeking health care, people providing health care, and people making policies that guide the health care system.

Submitted by Law School News on November 12, 2013

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