Physician Induced Demand for C-Sections: Does the Convenience Incentive Matter?

Abstract

This paper investigates whether physicians induce demand for C-sections in the days preceding leisure periods. I reject that doctors are meaningfully increasing the number of primary cesareans to accommodate their own preferences for control of deliveries around holiday Mondays. Using a sample of more than 1,300,000 deliveries, I can estimate that the induced demand due to convenience is close to zero. A small signicant eect is found for women having had a previous C-section. While I replicate previous results of lower C-section rates on leisure periods, I show that they are due to the way doctors schedule planned cesareans rather than to an induced demand for reason of physicians' convenience. If induced demand occurs, the decision takes place in the labor room and is not planned in advance.

Comparison of Health Care Utilization Among Patients Affiliated and Not Affiliated with Healthcare Professionals in China

“…Healthcare professionals are often blamed for the high cost of health care services as they are often able to induce patients to consume more health care than necessary [4,30]. For instance, studies in developed countries also have illustrated that physicians tend to perform more cesarean delivery in response to declining fertility, treat more intensively when their incomes are adversely affected by fee-reduction policies, and prescribe more medications to patients [10,[36][37][38].…”

Comparison of Health Care Utilization Among Patients Affiliated and Not Affiliated with Healthcare Professionals in China

“…Healthcare professionals are often blamed for the high cost of health care services as they are often able to induce patients to consume more health care than necessary [4,33]. For instance, studies in developed countries also have illustrated that physicians tend to perform more cesarean delivery in response to declining fertility, treat more intensively when their incomes are adversely affected by fee-reduction policies, and prescribe more medications to patients [10,[37][38][39].…”

Comparison of Health Care Utilization Among Patients Affiliated and Not Affiliated with Healthcare Professionals in China

“…Healthcare professionals are often blamed for the high cost of health care services as they are often able to induce patients to consume more health care than necessary [4,33]. For instance, studies in developed countries also have illustrated that physicians tend to perform more cesarean delivery in response to declining fertility, treat more intensively when their incomes are adversely affected by fee-reduction policies, and prescribe more medications to patients [10,[37][38][39].…”