Working Paper: NBER ID: w16602
Authors: Janet Currie; Wanchuan Lin; Wei Zhang
Abstract: We ask how patient knowledge of appropriate antibiotic usage affects both physicians prescribing behavior and the physician-patient relationship. We conduct an audit study in which a pair of simulated patients with identical flu-like complaints visits the same physician. Simulated patient A is instructed to ask a question that showcases his/her knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use, whereas patient B is instructed to say nothing beyond describing his/her symptoms. We find that a patient's knowledge of appropriate antibiotics use reduces both antibiotic prescription rates and drug expenditures. Such knowledge also increases physicians' information provision about possible side effects, but has a negative impact on the quality of the physician-patient interactions.
Keywords: Antibiotics; Patient Knowledge; Physician Behavior; Audit Study; China
JEL Codes: I11; I12; I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Patient knowledge (I10) | Antibiotic prescriptions (I11) |
| Patient knowledge (I10) | Drug expenditures (H51) |
| Patient knowledge (I10) | Information provision about side effects (I10) |
| Patient knowledge (I10) | Quality of physician-patient interactions (I11) |