There is a paucity of literature concerning the relation between the resource utilization decisions of the salaried hospital based physician and patient outcomes in a national health service (NHS). The purpose of our study is to model and test hospital production where the major decision makers are physicians. We view the output of the hospital as a distribution function over final health states of the patient. Our model contains a utility function for physicians whose arguments include the expected final health status of the patient and a pressure function that reflects the resource allocation and hospital financing policy of the Administrative Health Authority. Two sets of first order conditions derived from the theoretical model are estimated within a simultaneous equations framework. We use data consisting of all non-transfer inpatient discharges for the most frequent non-obstetric Diagnosis Related Group during the 1992-1999 time period in one European Union country. We find evidence that hospital location, Health Authority budget setting methods, patient possession of a third party payer outside of the NHS, and hospital on-site availability are all important predictors for use of the resource in question. Moreover, we find that use of the resource is important in predicting the final health status of the patient.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to 1. Evaluate the decision-making process of the hospital based physician in a national health service. 2. Assess the relation between technology utilization and patient outcomes.
Keywords: International Systems, Health Care Utilization
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.