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It could be worse...it could be raining: Ambulance response time and health outcomes

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  • Elena Lucchese

Abstract

Ambulance response time to emergency calls is a key indicator of a health system's efficiency although its impact on health is not precisely known. This causal relation is identified by exploiting rainfall at the time of the ambulance run as a shock to responsiveness. The elasticity of the likelihood of a severe cardiovascular condition with respect to response time is 0.9 and that of the likelihood of death before reaching the hospital is 5. Finally, the economic value of time is quantified, and it is shown that improving the ambulance's ability to locate the scene would substantially increase efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena Lucchese, 2020. "It could be worse...it could be raining: Ambulance response time and health outcomes," Working Papers 429, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:mib:wpaper:429
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    Cited by:

    1. Knutsson, Daniel & Tyrefors, Björn, 2020. "The Quality and Efficiency Between Public and Private Firms: Evidence from Ambulance Services," Working Paper Series 1365, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 01 Jul 2021.
    2. Elena Lucchese, 2020. "Where are you? The problem of location during emergencies," Working Papers 439, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2020.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    efficiency; response time; health; policy.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C26 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Instrumental Variables (IV) Estimation
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • R41 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Transportation: Demand, Supply, and Congestion; Travel Time; Safety and Accidents; Transportation Noise

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