Free choice, waiting time and length of stay in Norwegian hospitals

dc.contributor.author	Kjerstad, Egil
dc.contributor.author	Kristiansen, Frode
dc.date.accessioned	2006-06-21T09:43:46Z
dc.date.available	2006-06-21T09:43:46Z
dc.date.issued	2005-04
dc.identifier.issn	1503-2140
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/11250/165470
dc.description.abstract	In many countries’ public health care systems patients now have choice of hospital. Hospitals compete by offering quality services. In Norway, freedom of choice was expected to reduce waiting time for planned admissions. Using a data set of approximately 56,000 patients classified in fourteen different Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG) over the four year period 1999-2002, we find that migrating patients wait on average two months less for treatment compared to patients choosing the hospital closest to their home municipality. We also find that migrating patients stay approximately one day shorter in hospital compared to non-migrating patients.	en
dc.format.extent	281215 bytes
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.language.iso	eng	en
dc.publisher	SNF	en
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Working paper	en
dc.relation.ispartofseries	2005:21	en
dc.subject	free choice	en
dc.subject	waiting time	en
dc.subject	length of stay	en
dc.title	Free choice, waiting time and length of stay in Norwegian hospitals	en
dc.type	Working paper	en