Given the large societal costs of carpal tunnel surgery and existence of a relatively inexpensive treatment option, carpal tunnel release provides fertile ground for testing whether societal costs can influence patient decision-making in hand surgery. Such work would inform future efforts to reduce societal healthcare costs by elucidating whether appeals to societal cost are effective at driving stewardship of limited healthcare resources at the patient level. In this study, the investigators aimed to answer this question by presenting participants with a hypothetical scenario in which the participants had to choose between surgery and wrist bracing for carpal tunnel syndrome. Participants were randomized into two cohorts and societal cost information was presented to the intervention group. The effect of societal cost information on treatment choice is assessed, along with participants' healthcare attitudes.
