Doctor competence and the demand for healthcare : evidence from rural China

Fe, Eduardo and Powell-Jackson, Timothy and Yip, Winnie (2017) Doctor competence and the demand for healthcare : evidence from rural China. Health Economics, 26 (10). pp. 1177-1190. ISSN 1057-9230 (https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.3387)

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Abstract

The agency problem between patients and doctors has long been emphasised in the health economics literature, but the empirical evidence on whether patients can evaluate and respond to better quality care remains mixed and inconclusive. Using household data linked to an assessment of village doctors' clinical competence in rural China, we show that there is no correlation between doctor competence and patients' healthcare utilisation, with confidence intervals reasonably tight around zero. Household perceptions of quality are an important determinant of care seeking behaviour yet patients appear unable to recognise more competent doctors -there is no relationship between doctor competence and perceptions of quality.

ORCID iDs

Fe, Eduardo ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7693-9143, Powell-Jackson, Timothy and Yip, Winnie;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:56686
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    31 October 2017
    Published
    15 August 2016
    Published Online
    15 June 2016
    Accepted
    Subjects:Medicine
    Department:Strathclyde Business School > Economics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:16 Jun 2016 15:51
    Last modified:11 Nov 2024 11:27
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/56686
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