Do Physicians' Financial Incentives Affect Medical Treatment and Patient Health?

Jeffrey Clemens and Joshua Gottlieb

American Economic Review, 2014, vol. 104, issue 4, 1320-49

Abstract: We investigate whether physicians' financial incentives influence health care supply, technology diffusion, and resulting patient outcomes. In 1997, Medicare consolidated the geographic regions across which it adjusts physician payments, generating area-specific price shocks. Areas with higher payment shocks experience significant increases in health care supply. On average, a 2 percent increase in payment rates leads to a 3 percent increase in care provision. Elective procedures such as cataract surgery respond much more strongly than less discretionary services. Non-radiologists expand their provision of MRIs, suggesting effects on technology adoption. We estimate economically small health impacts, albeit with limited precision.

JEL-codes: I11 I18 J44 O32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.4.1320
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (207)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/aer.104.4.1320 (application/pdf)
http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/app/10404/20120847_app.pdf (application/pdf)
http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/data/10404/20120847_data.zip (application/zip)
http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/ds/10404/20120847_ds.zip (application/zip)
Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.

Related works:
Working Paper: Do Physicians' Financial Incentives Affect Medical Treatment and Patient Health? (2012)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:4:p:1320-49

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/subscriptions

Access Statistics for this article

American Economic Review is currently edited by Esther Duflo

More articles in American Economic Review from American Economic Association Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Michael P. Albert ().