City Research Online

Convenient Primary Care and Emergency Hospital Utilization

Pinchbeck, E. ORCID: 0000-0002-5638-3923 (2018). Convenient Primary Care and Emergency Hospital Utilization (19/04). London, UK: City, University of London.

Abstract

Participation and utilization 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 utilization 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 Departments 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.

Publication Type: Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Additional Information: Copyright 2019, the author.
Publisher Keywords: primary care, emergency care, access, utilization decisions
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Departments: School of Policy & Global Affairs > Economics
[img]
Preview
Text - Published Version
Download (1MB) | Preview

Export

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

Actions (login required)

Admin Login Admin Login