Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13627
Authors: Daniel Avdic; Stephanie von Hinke; Bo Lagerqvist; Carol Propper; Johan Vikström
Abstract: We examine physician responses to global information shocks and the impact on patient outcomes. We exploit an international “firestorm” over the safety of an innovation in healthcare, drug-eluting stents. We use rich micro-data on interventional cardiologists’ use of stents to de- fine and measure responsiveness to news shocks. We find substantial heterogeneity in responsiveness to both good and bad news and an association between speed of response to news and patient outcomes. Patients treated by cardiologists who respond slowly to news shocks have fewer adverse outcomes. These results cannot be attributed to financial incentives, patient-physician sorting or heterogeneity in skill.
Keywords: practice style; response to news; quality of care
JEL Codes: H51; I11; I18; J24; O33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| physician responsiveness to information shocks (I11) | patient outcomes (I11) |
| slow response to news shocks (E32) | fewer adverse outcomes for patients (I11) |
| fast response to news shocks (G14) | more adverse outcomes for patients (I14) |
| national guidelines introduction (I10) | decreased variability in physician behavior (I11) |
| decreased variability in physician behavior (I11) | improved patient outcomes (I14) |
| responsiveness to bad news (E44) | heterogeneous reactions among cardiologists (I11) |