Effects of Global Budgeting on the Distribution of Dentists and Use of Dental Care in Taiwan

Abstract

Objective. To examine the effects of global budgeting on the distribution of dentists and the use and cost of dental care in Taiwan. Data Sources. (1) Monthly dental claim data from January 1996 to December 2001 for the entire insured population in Taiwan. (2) The 1996–2001 population information for the cities, counties and townships in Taiwan, abstracted from the Taiwan‐Fukien Demographic Fact Book. Study Design. Longitudinal, using the autocorrelation model. Principal Findings. Results indicated decline in dental care utilization, particularly after the implementation of dental global budgeting. With few exceptions, dental global budgeting did not improve the distribution of dental care and dentist supply. Conclusions. The experience of the dental global budget program in Taiwan suggested that dental global budgeting might contain dental care utilization and that several conditions might have to be met in order for the reimbursement system to have effective redistributive impact on dental care and dentist supply.

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