Dental care, though critical, is not accessible for the rural population. Remote dental units can address the gap in access by providing basic services to rural areas, but their economic viability is not clearly established. In this research, we explore the economics of a major hospital operating a remote unit in a distant rural area. Specifically, we characterize the optimal location of the remote unit and examine the impact of operating a remote dental unit on the profit of a dental hospital. The ideal scenario, from a patient coverage perspective, is to put the remote unit location far enough away that patients accessing the remote unit are distinct from patients accessing the main hospital center to avoid redundancy (market cannibalization). However, we show that such a placement may not always be optimal for the hospital's profit and derive conditions under which the optimal patient coverage for the hospital and the remote unit overlaps. Our findings lead to policy implications for dental care reimbursement and service expansion. We also offer insights for dental care providers who are considering adding a remote unit to serve patients in more distant regions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.