Table 3.
Characteristics patients in physician dispensing (PD) group versus non-PD group, year 2013
| Non-PD | PD | p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | 46,445 | 55,339 | |
| Control variables, observed on 1.1.2013 [means and standard deviation or in %] | |||
| Age | 55.4 (19.02) | 57.6 (19.37) | 0.0*** |
| Share of females | 0.61 % | 0.57 % | 0.0*** |
| Share of high deductibles | 0.22 % | 0.21 % | 0.0*** |
| Standard contract (non-managed care) | 0.59 % | 0.57 % | 0.0*** |
| Health care expenditure in previous year in Swiss francs | 5,204 (8,516) | 4,818 (8,704) | 0.0*** |
| Agricultural-mixed municipalities | 0.4 % | 1.2 % | 0.0*** |
| Agricultural municipalities | 0.0 % | 0.0 % | 0.0*** |
| Affluent municipalities | 7.8 % | 10.2 % | 0.0*** |
| Touristic municipalities | 0.2 % | 0.1 % | 0.0*** |
| Industrial and tertiary municipalities | 1.3 % | 3.1 % | 0.0*** |
| Rural commuting municipalities | 1.0 % | 2.5 % | 0.0*** |
| Periurban municipalities | 5.5 % | 14.0 % | 0.0*** |
| Suburban municipalities | 25.4 % | 53.6 % | 0.0*** |
| Urban centers | 58.5 % | 15.2 % | 0.0*** |
| Target variables, observed 1.1.2013 - 30.06.2013 | |||
| Pharmaceutical expenditure per patient in Swiss francs | 538 (1,299) | 469 (1,031) | 0.0*** |
| Share of generic drugs | 19.3 % | 24.6 % | 0.0*** |
| Number of different active agents per patient | 5.40 | 5.68 | 0.0*** |
| Number of GP visits per patient | 2.73 | 3.13 | 0.0*** |
| Number of specialist visits per patient | 2.80 | 2.13 | 0.0*** |
| Physician expenditure per patient in Swiss francs | 816 (1,217) | 753 (1,513) | 0.0*** |
| Health care expenditure per patient in Swiss francs | 2,559 (4,536) | 2,406 (4,876) | 0.0*** |
Source: Claims data from Helsana insurance company, own calculations, Standard deviations in parentheses