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Healthcare utilisation by diabetic patients in Denmark: the role of primary care in reducing emergency visits

Mauro Laudicella, Paolo Li Donni and Vincenzo Prete

Health Policy, 2024, vol. 145, issue C

Abstract: Improving the management of diabetic patients is receiving increasing attention in the health policy agenda due to increasing prevalence in the population and raising pressure on healthcare resources. This paper examines the determinants of healthcare services utilisation in patients with type-2 diabetes, investigating the potential substitution effect of general practice visits on the utilisation of emergency department visits. By using rich longitudinal data from Denmark and a bivariate econometric model, our analysis highlights primary care services that are more effective in preventing emergency department visits and socioeconomic groups of patients with a weak substitution response. Our results suggest that empowering primary care services, such as preventive assessment visits, may contribute to reducing emergency department visits significantly. Moreover, special attention should be devoted to vulnerable groups, such as patients from low socioeconomic background and older patients, who may find more difficult achieving a large substitution response.

Keywords: Primary care; Secondary care; Diabetes; Hidden Markov models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C33 D63 I11 I14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:145:y:2024:i:c:s0168851024000897

DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105079

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