IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/hepoli/v118y2014i3p396-406.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Concentration of gynaecology and obstetrics in Germany: Is comprehensive access at stake?

Author

Listed:
  • Mennicken, Roman
  • Kolodziej, Ingo W.K.
  • Augurzky, Boris
  • Kreienberg, Rolf

Abstract

Financial soundness will become more and more difficult in the future for all types of hospitals. This is particularly relevant for gynaecology and obstetrics departments: while some disciplines can expect higher demand due to demographic changes and progress in medicine and medical technology, the inpatient sector for gynaecology and obstetrics is likely to lose patients in line with these trends. In this paper we estimate future demand for gynaecology and obstetrics in Germany and develop a cost model to calculate the average profitability in this discipline. The number of inpatient cases in gynaecology and obstetrics can be expected to decrease by 3.62% between 2007 and 2020 due to the demographic change and a potential shift from inpatient to outpatient services. Small departments within the fields of gynaecology and obstetrics are already incurring heavy losses, and the anticipated decline in cases should increase this financial distress even more. As such, the further centralisation of services is indicated. We calculate travel times for gynaecology and obstetrics patients and estimate the anticipated changes in travel times by simulating different scenarios for this centralisation process. Our results show that the centralisation of hospital services in gynaecology and obstetrics may be possible without compromising comprehensive access as measured by travel times.

Suggested Citation

  • Mennicken, Roman & Kolodziej, Ingo W.K. & Augurzky, Boris & Kreienberg, Rolf, 2014. "Concentration of gynaecology and obstetrics in Germany: Is comprehensive access at stake?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(3), pages 396-406.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:118:y:2014:i:3:p:396-406
    DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2014.07.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168851014001985
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.healthpol.2014.07.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Varkevisser, Marco & van der Geest, Stéphanie A. & Schut, Frederik T., 2012. "Do patients choose hospitals with high quality ratings? Empirical evidence from the market for angioplasty in the Netherlands," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 371-378.
    2. Pilkington, Hugo & Blondel, Béatrice & Carayol, Marion & Breart, Gérard & Zeitlin, Jennifer, 2008. "Impact of maternity unit closures on access to obstetrical care: The French experience between 1998 and 2003," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(10), pages 1521-1529, November.
    3. Jung, Kyoungrae & Feldman, Roger & Scanlon, Dennis, 2011. "Where would you go for your next hospitalization?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 832-841, July.
    4. repec:zbw:rwirep:0469 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Marco Varkevisser & Stéphanie Geest, 2007. "Why do patients bypass the nearest hospital? An empirical analysis for orthopaedic care and neurosurgery in the Netherlands," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 8(3), pages 287-295, September.
    6. Marco Varkevisser & Stéphanie Geest & Frederik Schut, 2010. "Assessing hospital competition when prices don’t matter to patients: the use of time-elasticities," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 43-60, March.
    7. Lindrooth, Richard C. & Lo Sasso, Anthony T. & Bazzoli, Gloria J., 2003. "The effect of urban hospital closure on markets," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(5), pages 691-712, September.
    8. Schmid, Andreas & Ulrich, Volker, 2013. "Consolidation and concentration in the German hospital market: The two sides of the coin," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 301-310.
    9. Office of Health Economics, 2007. "The Economics of Health Care," For School 001490, Office of Health Economics.
    10. Corinna Hentschker & Roman Mennicken, 2015. "The Volume‐Outcome Relationship and Minimum Volume Standards – Empirical Evidence for Germany," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 644-658, June.
    11. Hentschker, Corinna & Mennicken, Roman & Schmid, Andreas, 2014. "Defining Hospital Markets - An Application to the German Hospital Sector," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 4(28), pages 1-17.
    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. Hentschker, Corinna & Mennicken, Roman, 2014. "Selective-referral and unobserved patient heterogeneity - Bias in the volume-outcome relationship," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100299, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Sriubaite, Ieva, 2021. "Who will be the mediator? Local politics and hospital closures in Germany," Ruhr Economic Papers 897, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    3. Mensen, Anne, 2022. "Concentration of hospital capacities and patients' access to care," Ruhr Economic Papers 952, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    4. Avdic, Daniel & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Pilny, Adam & Sriubaite, Ieva, 2019. "Subjective and objective quality and choice of hospital: Evidence from maternal care services in Germany," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Daniel Avdic & Tugba Bueyuekdurmus & Giuseppe Moscelli & Adam Pilny & Ieva Sriubaite, 2018. "Subjective and objective quality reporting and choice of hospital: Evidence from maternal care services in Germany," CINCH Working Paper Series 1803, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    6. repec:zbw:rwirep:0527 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Corinna Hentschker & Roman Mennicken, 2014. "Selective-referral and Unobserved Patient Heterogeneity – Bias in the Volume-outcome Relationship," Ruhr Economic Papers 0527, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    8. Jan Bauer & Peter Müller & Werner Maier & David A Groneberg, 2017. "Orthopedic workforce planning in Germany – an analysis of orthopedic accessibility," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.

    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. Schmid, Andreas & Varkevisser, Marco, 2016. "Hospital merger control in Germany, the Netherlands and England: Experiences and challenges," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(1), pages 16-25.
    2. Suzanne Ruwaard & Rudy Douven, 2014. "Quality and hospital choice for cataract treatments: the winner takes most," CPB Discussion Paper 272.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    3. Saghafian, Soroush & Hopp, Wallace J., 2017. "Can Public Reporting Cure Healthcare? The Role of Quality Transparency in Improving Patient-Provider Alignment," Working Paper Series rwp17-044, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    4. Suzanne Ruwaard & Rudy Douven, 2014. "Quality and hospital choice for cataract treatments: the winner takes most," CPB Discussion Paper 272, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Daniel Avdic & Tugba Bueyuekdurmus & Giuseppe Moscelli & Adam Pilny & Ieva Sriubaite, 2018. "Subjective and objective quality reporting and choice of hospital: Evidence from maternal care services in Germany," CINCH Working Paper Series 1803, Universitaet Duisburg-Essen, Competent in Competition and Health.
    6. Lippi Bruni, Matteo & Ugolini, Cristina & Verzulli, Rossella, 2021. "Should I wait or should I go? Travelling versus waiting for better healthcare," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    7. Puck Beukers & Ron Kemp & Marco Varkevisser, 2014. "Patient hospital choice for hip replacement: empirical evidence from the Netherlands," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 15(9), pages 927-936, December.
    8. Hugh Gravelle & Rita Santos & Luigi Siciliani & Rosalind Goudie, 2012. "Hospital Quality Competition Under Fixed Prices," Working Papers 080cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    9. Soroush Saghafian & Wallace J. Hopp, 2020. "Can Public Reporting Cure Healthcare? The Role of Quality Transparency in Improving Patient–Provider Alignment," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 68(1), pages 71-92, January.
    10. Hentschker, Corinna & Mennicken, Roman, 2014. "Selective-referral and Unobserved Patient Heterogeneity – Bias in the Volume-outcome Relationship," Ruhr Economic Papers 527, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    11. Avdic, Daniel & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Pilny, Adam & Sriubaite, Ieva, 2019. "Subjective and objective quality and choice of hospital: Evidence from maternal care services in Germany," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. repec:zbw:rwirep:0527 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Versteeg, S.E. & Ho, V.K.Y. & Siesling, S. & Varkevisser, M., 2018. "Centralisation of cancer surgery and the impact on patients’ travel burden," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(9), pages 1028-1034.
    14. Fernández-Pérez, A.; & Jiménez-Rubio, D.; & Robone, S.;, 2019. "The Effect of Freedom of Choice on Health System Responsiveness. Evidence from Spain," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 19/21, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    15. Giuseppe Moscelli & Luigi Siciliani & Nils Gutacker & Hugh Gravelle, 2016. "Location, quality and choice of hospital: Evidence from England 2002/3 - 2012/13," Working Papers 123cherp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    16. Visa Pitkänen & Ismo Linnosmaa, 2021. "Choice, quality and patients’ experience: evidence from a Finnish physiotherapy service," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 229-245, June.
    17. Corinna Hentschker & Roman Mennicken, 2014. "Selective-referral and Unobserved Patient Heterogeneity – Bias in the Volume-outcome Relationship," Ruhr Economic Papers 0527, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    18. Schut, Frederik T. & Varkevisser, Marco, 2013. "Tackling hospital waiting times: The impact of past and current policies in the Netherlands," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(1), pages 127-133.
    19. Gutacker, Nils & Siciliani, Luigi & Moscelli, Giuseppe & Gravelle, Hugh, 2016. "Choice of hospital: Which type of quality matters?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 230-246.
    20. Shi Bo & Chen Wen, 2018. "Individual Health Insurance Market with an Entrant – The ACA Health Insurance Exchange Observations," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 12(2), pages 1-27, July.
    21. Honora Smith & Christine Currie & Pornpimol Chaiwuttisak & Andreas Kyprianou, 2018. "Patient choice modelling: how do patients choose their hospitals?," Health Care Management Science, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 259-268, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Demographic change; Comprehensive access to hospital services; Centralisation of hospital services;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

    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:eee:hepoli:v:118:y:2014:i:3:p:396-406. 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: Catherine Liu or the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/healthpol .

    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.