Table 7.
Results of the multivariate regression analysis of the impact of physician dispensing (PD) on total health care expenditures
| Specification | Glm, log link gamma family |
|---|---|
| PD | 0.989 (0.008) |
| Age | 1.005 (0)*** |
| Gender = m | 0.977 (0.007)** |
| PPO-contract | 0.953 (0.012)*** |
| Telemedicine contract | 0.996 (0.011) |
| HMO contract | 0.965 (0.008)*** |
| High deductible | 0.87 (0.008)*** |
| Nursing home stay | 3.126 (0.069)*** |
| Outpatient hospital visits 1-5 | 1.783 (0.016)*** |
| Outpatient hospital visits >5 | 2.427 (0.048)*** |
| Inpatient stay in hospital | 4.003 (0.058)*** |
| Cost in past year (log) | 1.117 (0.002)*** |
| Prescriptions psychiatrists | 2.252 (0.054)*** |
| Prescriptions cardio-/angiologists | 1.614 (0.109)*** |
| Prescriptions gynaeologists | 1.488 (0.026)*** |
| Prescriptions other specialists | 1.78 (0.019)*** |
| Agricultural municipalities | 1.03 (0.268) |
| Affluent municipalities | 1.074 (0.041) |
| Industrial and tertiary municipalities | 0.977 (0.042) |
| Rural commuting municipalities | 1.004 (0.044) |
| Periurban municipalities | 1.025 (0.039) |
| Suburban municipalities | 1.022 (0.038) |
| Touristic municipalities | 0.946 (0.088) |
| Urban centers | 1.079 (0.04)* |
| 22 pharmaceutical cost groups | all coefficients strongly positive |
Target variable per patient, first 6 months of year 2013. Exponential of coefficients [exp(^β)] displayed
Standard errors calculated by the delta method [ŝexp(β) = exp(β) ∗ ŝβ], displayed in parentheses
Significance levels: ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05
Source: Claims data from Helsana insurance company, own calculations