Inefficiencies in physician practices

Abstract

Explosive growth in spending on physician services in the 1980s has focussed the attention of policymakers and researchers on inefficiencies in physician practices. This chapter surveys the recent literature on inefficiencies in physician practices and provides a review, critique, and synthesis of empirical findings. The major emphasis is on measurement and estimates of economies of scale in physician practices. The paper concludes with a discussion of limitations of current knowledge and methods, and directions for future research.