Do breaks from surgery improve the performance of orthopaedic surgeons?

Laurie Rachet-Jacquet

Journal of Health Economics, 2022, vol. 85, issue C

Abstract: This paper explores whether breaks from surgical practice impact surgeons’ performance. Using a large panel of orthopaedic surgeons in England, I estimate the effect of surgeons’ breaks, measured by the number of days since their last surgery, on the health outcomes of emergency patients admitted after a hip fracture. To identify a causal effect, I implement a surgeon fixed effects model and exploit the quasi-exogenous variation in breaks from unanticipated emergency hip fracture admissions. Results show that short breaks of four to six days reduce 30-day mortality rates by around six percent relative to no breaks. Notably, short breaks also affect the type of surgery carried out, holding patient characteristics fixed. Overall, these findings show that the organisation of surgeons’ activity is a possible determinant of the quality of care provided.

Keywords: Patient outcomes; Surgeon; Workforce organisation; Skill depreciation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 I18 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:85:y:2022:i:c:s0167629622000832

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2022.102667

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