Should patients be told where they can get better care?

PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine published an article this week debating whether informed consent procedures for cancer treatment should include discussions about hospital outcome disparities. Hospitals that perform procedures more often have better treatment outcomes. Should a physician offer that information, even if it means sending a patient to another facility and another physician? Does expecting doctors to offer this information create a conflict of interest?

You can find the PLoS article here.

And a New York Times article about the debate here.