IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/18153.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Using Audit Studies to Test for Physician Induced Demand: The Case of Antibiotic Abuse in China

Author

Listed:
  • Janet Currie
  • Wanchuan Lin
  • Juanjuan Meng

Abstract

The overuse of medical services including antibiotics is often blamed on Physician Induced Demand. But since this theory is about physician motivations, it is difficult to test. We conduct an audit study in which physician financial incentives, beliefs about what patients want, and desires to reciprocate for a small gift are systematically varied. We find that all of these treatments reduce antibiotics prescriptions, suggesting that antibiotics abuse in China is not driven by patients actively demanding antibiotics, by physicians believing that patients want antibiotics, or by physicians believing that antibiotics are in the best interests of their patients, but is largely driven by financial incentives. Our results also show that physician behavior can be significantly influenced by the receipt of a token gift, such as a pen.

Suggested Citation

  • Janet Currie & Wanchuan Lin & Juanjuan Meng, 2012. "Using Audit Studies to Test for Physician Induced Demand: The Case of Antibiotic Abuse in China," NBER Working Papers 18153, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18153
    Note: EH
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w18153.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Currie, Janet & Lin, Wanchuan & Zhang, Wei, 2011. "Patient knowledge and antibiotic abuse: Evidence from an audit study in China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 933-949.
    2. Victor R. Fuchs, 2018. "The Supply of Surgeons and the Demand for Operations," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Health Economics and Policy Selected Writings by Victor Fuchs, chapter 16, pages 171-192, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Thomas G. McGuire & Mark V. Pauly, 1991. "Physician Response to Fee Changes with Multiple Payers," Papers 0015, Boston University - Industry Studies Programme.
    4. Carmichael, H Lorne & MacLeod, W Bentley, 1997. "Gift Giving and the Evolution of Cooperation," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 38(3), pages 485-509, August.
    5. Daniel Bennett & Che-Lun Hung & Tsai-Ling Lauderdale, 2015. "Health Care Competition and Antibiotic Use in Taiwan," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 371-393, June.
    6. Bi, Peng & Tong, Shilu & Parton, Kevin A., 2000. "Family self-medication and antibiotics abuse for children and juveniles in a Chinese city," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 50(10), pages 1445-1450, May.
    7. Jonathan Gruber & Maria Owings, 1996. "Physician Financial Incentives and Cesarean Section Delivery," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(1), pages 99-123, Spring.
    8. Victor R. Fuchs, 2018. "Reflections on the Socio-Economic Correlates of Health," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Health Economics and Policy Selected Writings by Victor Fuchs, chapter 10, pages 115-124, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Amitabh Chandra & Douglas O. Staiger, 2007. "Productivity Spillovers in Health Care: Evidence from the Treatment of Heart Attacks," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 115(1), pages 103-140.
    10. Lu, Fangwen, 2014. "Insurance coverage and agency problems in doctor prescriptions: Evidence from a field experiment in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 156-167.
    11. Yip, Winnie C., 1998. "Physician response to Medicare fee reductions: changes in the volume of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries in the Medicare and private sectors," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 675-699, December.
    12. Karen Eggleston & Winnie Yip, 2004. "Hospital Competition under Regulated Prices: Application to Urban Health Sector Reforms in China," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 343-368, December.
    13. Dranove, David, 1988. "Pricing by non-profit institutions : The case of hospital cost-shifting," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 47-57, March.
    14. Skinner, Jonathan, 2011. "Causes and Consequences of Regional Variations in Health Care," Handbook of Health Economics, in: Mark V. Pauly & Thomas G. Mcguire & Pedro P. Barros (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 45-93, Elsevier.
    15. Sun, Xiaoyun & Jackson, Sukhan & Carmichael, Gordon A. & Sleigh, Adrian C., 2009. "Prescribing behaviour of village doctors under China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 1775-1779, May.
    16. McGuire, Thomas G. & Pauly, Mark V., 1991. "Physician response to fee changes with multiple payers," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 385-410.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lu, Fangwen, 2014. "Insurance coverage and agency problems in doctor prescriptions: Evidence from a field experiment in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 156-167.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Currie, Janet & Lin, Wanchuan & Zhang, Wei, 2011. "Patient knowledge and antibiotic abuse: Evidence from an audit study in China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 933-949.
    2. Currie, Janet & Lin, Wanchuan & Meng, Juanjuan, 2014. "Addressing antibiotic abuse in China: An experimental audit study," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 39-51.
    3. Erin M. Johnson & M. Marit Rehavi, 2016. "Physicians Treating Physicians: Information and Incentives in Childbirth," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(1), pages 115-141, February.
    4. Lien, Hsien-Ming & Albert Ma, Ching-To & McGuire, Thomas G., 2004. "Provider-client interactions and quantity of health care use," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1261-1283, November.
    5. Ge, Ge & Cheo, Roland & Liu, Rugang & Wang, Jian & Wang, Qiqi, 2023. "Physician beneficence and profit-taking among private for profit clinics in China: A field study using a mystery shopper audit," HERO Online Working Paper Series 2023:6, University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme.
    6. Zhou, Mei & Zhao, Shaoyang & Fu, Mingwei, 2021. "Supply-induced demand for medical services under price regulation: Evidence from hospital expansion in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Daniele Fabbri & Chiara Monfardini, 2003. "Public vs. Private Health Care Services Demand in Italy," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 62(1), pages 93-123, April.
    8. Shigeoka, Hitoshi & Fushimi, Kiyohide, 2014. "Supplier-induced demand for newborn treatment: Evidence from Japan," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 162-178.
    9. Claudia Keser & Claude Montmarquette & Martin Schmidt & Cornelius Schnitzler, 2020. "Custom-made health-care: an experimental investigation," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Gao, Qiuming & Wang, Derek, 2021. "Hospital efficiency and equity in health care delivery: A study based in China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Yoshida, Atsushi & Kawamura, Akira, 2009. "Who has benefited from the health services system for the elderly in Japan?," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 256-269, August.
    12. Jeffrey Clemens & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2017. "In the Shadow of a Giant: Medicare’s Influence on Private Physician Payments," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(1), pages 1-39.
    13. Martin Salm & Ansgar Wübker, 2020. "Do hospitals respond to decreasing prices by supplying more services?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 209-222, February.
    14. David Cutler & Jonathan Skinner & Ariel Dora Stern & David Wennberg, 2013. "Physician Beliefs and Patient Preferences: A New Look at Regional Variation in Health Care Spending," NBER Working Papers 19320, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Jon Gruber & John Kim & Dina Mayzlin, 1998. "Physician Fees and Procedure Intensity: The Case of Cesarean Delivery," NBER Working Papers 6744, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Janet Currie & Jonathan Gruber, 1997. "The Technology of Birth: Health Insurance, Medical Interventions, and Infant Health," NBER Working Papers 5985, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Pierre Azoulay & Ariel Fishman, 2020. "The Rise of For-Profit Experimental Medicine," NBER Working Papers 26892, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Fu, Hongqiao & Li, Ling & Yip, Winnie, 2018. "Intended and unintended impacts of price changes for drugs and medical services: Evidence from China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 114-122.
    19. D. Fabbri & C. Monfardini, 2001. "Demand Induction with a Discrete Distribution of Patients," Working Papers 414, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    20. Craig L. Garthwaite, 2011. "The Doctor Might See You Now: The Supply Side Effects of Public Health Insurance Expansions," NBER Working Papers 17070, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18153. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.