Pat McGregor (University of Ulster) Pat McKee (University of Ulster) Ciaran O’Neill (University of Ulster)
Abstract
Using data from the Northern Ireland Household Panel survey we demonstrate that attendance at outpatients is determined solely by respondent health. This is consistent with the GP acting as a gatekeeper to other services. Attendance thus provides valuable information on illness severity. Splitting the sample into two statistically distinct groups, we estimate ordered probit regressions of GP utilisation with and without sample selection. The results indicate that ignoring outpatient attendance may result in misspecification. Further, if health is more fully measured, age becomes redundant as a determinant of utilisation and service supply, particularly accident and emergency use, is seen as a significant determinant in explaining GP visits.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Karl Whelan).
Related research
Keywords:
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: