Does competition from ambulatory surgical centers affect hospital surgical output?

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Charles J. Courtmanche, Assistant Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: This paper estimates the effect of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) on hospital surgical volume using hospital and year fixed effects models with several robustness checks. We show that ASC entry only appears to influence a hospital’s outpatient surgical volume if the facilities are within a few miles of each other. Even then, the average reduction in hospital volume is only 2–4%, which is not nearly large enough to offset the new procedures performed by an entering ASC. The effect is, however, stronger for large ASCs and the first ASCs to enter a market. Additionally, we find no evidence that entering ASCs reduce a hospital’s inpatient surgical volume.

Additional Information

Publication
Journal of Health Economics, 29(5), 765-773.
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
Ambulatory surgical center, Hospital competition, Physician-ownership, Hospital profit

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