If Doctors Know the Price, Would It Change Behavior? Essay Contest

The great folks over at Costs of Care have opened their 2012 essay contest to collect stories (the good, the bad, and the ugly) from both patients and  medical professionals as they wrestle with healthcare costs.  The full details:

Essay Question:

Do you have a story about a medical bill that was higher than you expected it to be? Or a time when you wanted to know how much a medical test or treatment might cost? How about a time you figured out a way to save money while still receiving high-value care?

Judges

Pauline Chen, surgeon, New York Times columnist

Jeffrey Drazen, editor-in-chief, New England Journal of Medicine

Donna Shalala, former United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

Ezekiel Emanuel, ethicist and former White House healthcare advisor

Rules

Entries must be no longer than 750 words and should be typed and double-spaced. Students are strongly encouraged to submit an anecdote. Entries will be judged based on the quality of the writing and the relevance of the anecdote to the topic of cost-awareness in medicine. We are primarily seeking anecdotes. The focus if the contest is not to suggest policy solutions.

E-mail submissions to contest@costsofcare.org are preferred, however entries may also be mailed to
Costs of Care
511 6th Ave, Box #13
New York, NY 10011

Finalists and winners will be announced according to the schedule below. Four care provider finalists and four patient finalists will be chosen. Care providers include doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, clinical assistants, health administrators and students of these professions. Patients include patients as well as their friends or family members, and students of non-clinical professions including college students. All finalist entries will be read and rank-ordered according to the above criteria by our high-profile judges. Four $1000 prize winners will be named — two care providers and two patients. All submissions are subject to the Costs of Care Contest grant of rights agreement. Selected submissions will be published on the Costs of Care blog, and may receive regional and/or national media coverage.

Key Dates

Contest Deadline: November 15th, 2012

Finalists Announced: December 15th, 2012

Prize Winners Announced: January 15th, 2013

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