Exploring physician agency under demand-side cost sharing-An experimental approach

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Medical Ethics
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• The health economics literature widely assumes physicians are patient-regarding.
• Physician patient-regarding preferences traditionally focus on health benefits, aligning with medical ethics.
• The scope of physician preferences beyond health benefits remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether physicians' patient-regarding preferences encompass patient consumption opportunities.
• To quantify the extent to which physicians value patients' consumption alongside health.

Main Methods:

• Designed and conducted an incentivized laboratory experiment.
• Experiment involved choices affecting a real patient's health and consumption.
• Utilized a novel experimental design to separately identify and quantify preferences.

Main Results:

• Found strong evidence that future physicians value their patients' consumption opportunities.
• Physicians' preferences extend beyond solely focusing on health benefits.
• Quantifiable data demonstrates concern for patient's broader well-being.

Conclusions:

• Physician patient-regarding preferences are broader than previously assumed in health economics.
• Future physicians demonstrate a concern for patients' consumption opportunities.
• Findings necessitate a revised understanding of physician behavior in healthcare economics.