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Surgeon supply and healthcare quality: Are revision rates for hip and knee replacements lower in hospitals that employ more surgeons?

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  • Raf Van Gestel
  • Niels Broekman
  • Tobias Müller

Abstract

We study the link between department‐wide surgeon supply and quality of care for two major elective medical procedures. Several countries have adopted policies to concentrate medical procedures in high‐volume hospitals. While higher patient volumes might translate to higher quality, we provide evidence for a positive relationship between surgeon supply and hospital revision rates for hip and knee replacement surgery. Hence, hospital performance decreases with higher surgeon supply, and this finding holds conditional on patient volumes.

Suggested Citation

  • Raf Van Gestel & Niels Broekman & Tobias Müller, 2023. "Surgeon supply and healthcare quality: Are revision rates for hip and knee replacements lower in hospitals that employ more surgeons?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(10), pages 2298-2321, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:32:y:2023:i:10:p:2298-2321
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.4727
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