Abstract
Participation and utilisation decisions lie at the heart of many public policy questions. I contribute new evidence by using hospital records to examine how access to primary care services affects utilisation of hospital Emergency Departments in England. Using a natural experiment in the roll out of services, I first show that access to primary care reduces Emergency Department visits. Additional strategies then allow me to separate descriptively four aspects of primary care access: proximity, opening hours, need to make an appointment, and eligibility. Convenience-oriented services divert three times as many patients from emergency visits, largely because patients can attend without appointments.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 102242 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Health Economics |
Volume | 68 |
Early online date | 9 Oct 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2019 |
Keywords
- Primary care
- Emergency care
- Access
- Utilisation decisions