OBJECTIVE: To test a brief intervention designed to improve the cost-effectiveness of care provided by medicine housestaff for hospitalized patients.

HYPOTHESIS: A brief intervention in which medicine residents receive itemized bills for recent patients cared for by them, followed by a discussion on approaches to reducing unnecessary inpatient costs, can result in significant cost reductions without adversely affecting patient outcomes.

We designed a brief educational intervention with two primary objectives: 1) to increase awareness among residents about how their decisions impact the costs of inpatient medical care; and 2) to improve the cost-effectiveness of care provided by residents without adversely affecting patient outcomes. We hypothesized that a brief intervention in which residents receive bills for patients they recently cared for, followed by a discussion on approaches to reducing unnecessary inpatient costs, would reduce costs without adversely affecting patient outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Internal Medicine Residents on Inpatient Rotations at Brigham & Women's Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• Having a team member who was in either the control group or intervention group in a prior round of this study.