Effect of Type of Insurance and Income on Waiting Time for Outpatient Care

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of type of insurance, income and reason for appointment on waiting time for an appointment and waiting time in the physician's practice in the outpatient sector. Data was obtained from a German patient survey conducted between 2007 and 2009. We differentiated between general practitioner (GP) and specialist and controlled for socioeconomic, structural and institutional characteristics as well as interactions between type of insurance and control variables. Our results reveal that private health insurance plays a significant role in faster access to care at GP and specialist practices. Access to care is also highly influenced by the reason for an appointment. We also found that increased income had a negative effect on waiting time in practices and on waiting time for an appointment in GP practices. Whether inequalities in access to health care also impact overall quality of treatment needs to be investigated in future research.

Waiting times in the ambulatory sector - the case of chronically Ill patients

“…This result is in line with the results found by Schellhorn [5] and Roll et al [6]. However, the effect by which priority was given to private patients was only significant in the case of specialists in urban areas.…”

Does healthcare infrastructure have an impact on delay in diagnosis and survival?

“…Due to the seriousness of the disease, the patient will visit the physician regardless of distance and the physician will provide the patient with appropriate treatment. In their study on waiting times in the German outpatient sector, Roll et al find that patients with a more severe condition obtain faster access to healthcare [33], which is concordant with the present findings.…”

Hours worked by general practitioners and waiting times for primary care

“…18 Regional and remote areas have higher waiting times compared with major cities. GPs in higher socioeconomic areas have lower waiting times, which is consistent with the waiting time literature (Cooper, McGuire, Jones, & Le Grand, 2009;Laudicella, Siciliani, & Cookson, 2012;Roll et al, 2012;Sharma, Siciliani, & Harris, 2013;Siciliani & Verzulli, 2009;Sudano & Baker, 2006).…”

“…The limited literature examining the accessibility to primary care focuses on differences in access by patient age, gender, location, and health (Kontopantelis, Roland, & Reeves, 2010;Muggah et al, 2014;Young, Dobson, & Byles, 2000). The few studies of primary care waiting times find that patients with higher income and private insurance have shorter waiting times (Roll, Stargardt, & Schreyögg, 2012). There is a paucity of research on how waiting times in primary care are affected by supply-side factors, which is crucial in designing policies to ensure timely access to GP services.…”