Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
HERO Online Working Paper Series,
University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme
No 2023:6: Physician beneficence and profit-taking among private for profit clinics in China: A field study using a mystery shopper audit
Ge Ge (), Roland Cheo, Rugang Liu, Jian Wang and Qiqi Wang
Additional contact information
Ge Ge: Department of Health Management and Health Economics, Postal: HERO / Department of Health Management and Health Economics, P.O. Box 1089 Blindern, NO-0317 Oslo, Norway
Roland Cheo: Centre for Behavioural and Implementation Science Interventions,
Rugang Liu: School of Public Health and Policy, Nanjing Medical University
Jian Wang: Dong Fureng Institute of Economic and Social Development and Center for Health Economics and Management, Wuhan University
Qiqi Wang: School of Economics, Xian School of Economics and Finance
Abstract: This study employs a mystery shopper audit on a random sample of 96 for-profit private clinics in Jinan, China. We investigate two instruments which reflect beneficence among for-profit clinicians in private practice. The first is whether physicians returned a lost wallet “accidentally” left next to the physician’s table; and the second, whether physicians prescribed antibiotics to pseudopatients who displayed no symptoms of any illness but had complained of fever the night before. These measures quantify beneficence under two different valence framing: returning a wallet represents clinicians who “do good” at personal cost to themselves, while not prescribing antibiotics represents a choice “not to do harm” to patients. We look at the correlation between these beneficence measures and the physicians’ prescription behaviours, and their revenues from the consultation. We find that whether doctors return a lost wallet or not, and prescribe antibiotics or not, such physicians are still as likely to prescribe medications which increase their incomes.
Keywords: mystery shopper audit; antibiotic prescription; lost wallet; beneficence; for-profit clinics; physicians
Language: English
30 pages, November 16, 2023
Full text files
2023-6.pdfFull text
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