Referral rates and waiting lists: some empirical evidence

Abstract

This paper provides some empirical evidence on topics discussed at greater length in a recent paper in Health Economics (Goddard, J.A., Malek, M. and Tavakoli, M. Health Economics 1995; 4: 41-55), which modelled the relationship between referral rates and waiting lists for hospital treatment for non-urgent conditions within a queuing theory framework. Here, we estimate a version of the demand function used in this model, with panel data for Scottish Health Board Areas during the period 1990-1992. Separate models are estimated for each of six broadly defined 'waiting list' specialisms, for which we have data on referral rates and waiting times. The six specialisms are General Surgery, Ear Nose and Throat Surgery, Gynaecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Urology.

The market for elective surgery: Joint estimation of supply and demand

“…Models of supply depend more heavily on institutional arrangements, but typically require modelling of revenue sources, case mix and quality of care, as well as a range of 'environmental' factors that affect the provider's ability to produce care. In the hospital sector, examples include Goddard and Tavakoli (1998), Gravelle et al (2003), Smith (1999, 2003) and Windmeijer et al (2005). In this paper we concentrate on the market for elective (non-emergency) hospital surgery in a system of public health care (the English National Health Service).…”

Patient experiences during waiting time for dental treatment

“…Waiting for health services that are more fundamental for acceptable survival in everyday life, like cataract or hip and knee replacement surgery, could be expected to cause more inconvenience. The maximum acceptable waiting times for such surgery is similar to or even longer [14][15][16][17] than that expressed by dental patients in the present study. This discrepancy can be interpreted as an indication that dental services are relatively highly valued by patients.…”

Self-Regulation in Hospital Waiting Lists

“…However, our approach is notable for being based on a simple theoryÐthe longer the likely wait, the less likely a general practitioner is to refer. It may be too simple, but tentative evidence for it already exists 6 . A correlation was not found in all specialties, so it may not be a general phenomenon.…”