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Are dental practices less productive with older patients? Comparison of alternative output measures
Author(s) -
Shuman Stephen K.,
Loupe Michael J.,
Davidson Gestur B.,
Martens Leslie V.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
special care in dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.328
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1754-4505
pISSN - 0275-1879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1992.tb00457.x
Subject(s) - medicine , productivity , liberian dollar , dental practice , gerontology , family medicine , demography , dentistry , finance , sociology , economics , macroeconomics
This study assessed the effects of increased visits by older dental patients on alternative measures of time‐ and dollar‐based practice productivity. The Minnesota Dental Practice Analysis System was used for analysis of data from 31 practices (12,818 patient visits) reporting increased visits by older adults between June, 1980, and December, 1984. Results suggested that the productivity effects associated with older patient visits were highly dependent on the practice output measure selected. While increased visits by patients age 70 and over were associated with increased monetary productivity per patient visit, time and monetary productivity per practice day were found to decline. An association between increased proportions of older patient visits and increased dentist minutes per visit appeared to account for this. This econometric analysis tends to support the notion that dental practices are less productive with older patients