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Expert Patients’ Use of Avoidable Health Care

Author

Listed:
  • Pragya Kakani
  • Simone Matecna
  • Amitabh Chandra

Abstract

We measure whether expert patients – those trained as physicians and nurses – have fewer emergency department visits and the reasons for these differences. Relative to similar patients physicians and nurses had 19.8% and 5.1% fewer ED visits, principally due to fewer avoidable visits. The differences in avoidable visits between physicians and other patients were largest for diagnoses commonly requiring prescriptions, which physicians often self-prescribed. Our results suggest that improving access to prescriptions for acute symptoms, more than improving patient education, may reduce avoidable health care.

Suggested Citation

  • Pragya Kakani & Simone Matecna & Amitabh Chandra, 2025. "Expert Patients’ Use of Avoidable Health Care," NBER Working Papers 33573, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33573
    Note: CH EH
    as

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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