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[Medical monopolies--a choice between quality and equality?]
1Hjertemedisinsk avdeling, Universitetssykehuset Nord Norge, 9038 Tromsø. knut.rasmussen@unn.no
Summary
Medical monopolies in Norway show poor healthcare distribution, with significantly lower usage in Northern Norway. This highlights the need for cautious management of monopolies to ensure equitable access to specialized medical services.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Healthcare Management
- Public Health Policy
Context:
- Norway's highly specialized medical services operate as monopolies and bipolies, with services concentrated in southern hospitals.
- These services include a duty of referral and admittance for specific patient groups.
- Analysis focused on the geographical distribution of 2711 patients treated in 2001.
Purpose:
- To analyze the geographical distribution of highly specialized medical services in Norway.
- To identify disparities in healthcare access related to geographical location and service monopolies.
- To evaluate the impact of monopolies on healthcare distribution and patient access.
Summary:
- Geographical distribution of specialized medical services was highly skewed, with usage decreasing as distance from monopoly centers increased.
- The ratio of service usage between the highest and lowest counties was 2.3, indicating significant disparities.
- Northern Norway exhibited significantly lower utilization rates compared to other regions.
Impact:
- Medical monopolies appear to inherently lead to poor healthcare distribution, mirroring negative effects of economic monopolies.
- A cautious approach to new monopolies and strict control of existing ones are recommended.
- Maintaining equal access to specialized medical services should remain a primary objective for public healthcare systems.