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Relative inefficiencies in production between solo and group practice physicians
Author(s) -
DeFelice Lisa C.,
Bradford W. David
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1050(199709)6:5<455::aid-hec290>3.0.co;2-s
Subject(s) - production (economics) , medical practice , production–possibility frontier , estimation , health care , frontier , economics , face (sociological concept) , managed care , stochastic frontier analysis , productive efficiency , actuarial science , public economics , psychology , medicine , microeconomics , medical education , sociology , management , political science , social science , economic growth , law
Health economists have hypothesized for some time that physicians produce medical care in an inefficient manner. Further, whether solo or group practice physicians are relatively more inefficient has been a question of particular interest. Theoretical considerations suggest that solo and group practice physicians face different behavioural and production constraints, implying that they may produce care at different levels of efficiency; which is more efficient is an empirical question. We employed stochastic production frontier estimation to address this issue. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.