Provider Discretion and Variation in Resource Allocation: The Case of Triage Decisions
Name
pandp.20201032.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.08 MB
Format
Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
e5f591b25fe3ec70589f4b640d0a7060
Author(s)
Chan, David C.
Gruber, Jonathan
Date Issued
May 1, 2020
Journal
American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings
Publisher
American Economic Association
Citation
Chan, David C. and Gruber, Jonathan. 2020. "Provider Discretion and Variation in Resource Allocation: The Case of Triage Decisions." American Economic Association Papers and Proceedings, 110.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
One of the most challenging environments in health care is the emergency department (ED) A key decision-maker in that context is triage nurses, who assess patient illness severity and influence wait times for medical attention. We gather novel data on the triage process across 108 EDs, including wait times, triage nurse identities and assessments, and detailed patient information and outcomes. Using quasi-random assignment to ED, we find a striking rate of “inversions,” where patients who are sicker based on either ex ante information or ex post outcomes are scored as sicker and wait longer than their healthier counterparts.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20201032
