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Pauly M, (2004)
‘Competition in Medical Services and the Quality of Care: Concepts
and History’
International Journal of Health Care Finance & Economics,
4(2):113-30
- Reviews the concept of optimal quality in medical care from an economic
viewpoint. Discusses how competition among suppliers affects both the
incentive structures for quality and the levels of quality finally achieved.
- Quality may be suboptimal either because of technical inefficiency
in the production of quality or because consumers fail to make proper
choices.
- Pauly demonstrates that, with regard to the effect of competition
on quality almost anything can happen:·
- Quality can either
rise or fall
- Price or cost can either rise or fall
- BUT quality cannot fall and price rise.
- That is, it is not economically correct to say that competition will “maximise
quality”, or even that it will necessarily improve quality in a market,
compared to less competition. It is correct to say that competition will make
informed consumers better off in unfettered markets.
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