title: 'Standardized patients' can combat practice variations.
abstract: When a group of physicians in Montreal used four "standardized patients" to assess physician resource utilization and visit costs, they discovered wild variations. Could a similar program improve practice patterns and drive down utilization in your organization?
mesh_terms: D003363:Cost Control / Q000379:methods; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000379:methods*; D016544:Patient Simulation; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011361:Professional Competence; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014481:United States