Returns to Physician Human Capital: Analyzing Patients Randomized to Physician Teams / Joseph J. Doyle, Jr., Steven M. Ewer, Todd H. Wagner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Doyle, Joseph J, Jr.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Ewer, Steven M.

Wagner, Todd H.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w14174.

NBER working paper series no. w14174

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Returns to Physician Human Capital

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2008.

Summary:

Patient sorting can confound estimates of the returns to physician human capital. This paper compares nearly 30,000 patients who were randomly assigned to clinical teams from one of two academic institutions. One institution is among the top medical schools in the country, while the other institution is ranked lower in the quality distribution. Patients treated by the two teams have identical observable characteristics and have access to a single set of facilities and ancillary staff. Those treated by physicians from the higher-ranked institution have 10-25% shorter and less expensive stays than patients assigned to the lower-ranked institution. Health outcomes are not related to the physician team assignment, and the estimates are precise. Procedure differences across the teams are consistent with the ability of physicians in the lower-ranked institution to substitute time and diagnostic tests for the faster judgments of physicians from the top-ranked institution.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2008.