Table 5—
Predictors of Cowboy, Comforter, and High Follow-up Physician Types
| Cowboy physician (1) | Comforter physician (2) | High follow-up physician (3) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel A. General controls | |||
| Cardiologist dummy | 0.005 (0.042) | −0.092 (0.048) | 0.222 (0.029) |
| Age | 0.003 (0.001) | 0.000 (0.002) | 0.004 (0.001) |
| Male | 0.027 (0.037) | −0.072 (0.042) | −0.078 (0.025) |
| Weekly patient days | −0.011 (0.009) | 0.024 (0.011) | 0.008 (0.006) |
| Board certified | −0.033 (0.043) | −0.035 (0.049) | 0.010 (0.030) |
| Panel B. Reimbursement | |||
| Fraction capitated patients | 0.001 (0.001) | −0.000 (0.001) | 0.000 (0.000) |
| Fraction Medicaid patients | 0.004 (0.001) | 0.001 (0.001) | 0.001 (0.001) |
| Fraction Medicare patients | 0.001 (0.001) | 0.000 (0.001) | 0.000 (0.000) |
| Panel C. Organizational factors | |||
| (Baseline = Solo or two-person practice) | — | — | — |
| Single/multi speciality group practice | −0.101 (0.032) | −0.008 (0.037) | −0.164 (0.022) |
| Group/staff HMO or hospital-based practice | −0.171 (0.047) | 0.038 (0.053) | −0.153 (0.032) |
| Panel D. Responsiveness factors | |||
| Responds to patient expectations | −0.036 (0.036) | 0.047 (0.041) | −0.007 (0.025) |
| Responds to colleague expectations | −0.015 (0.030) | −0.005 (0.035) | 0.026 (0.021) |
| Responds to referrer expectations | 0.061 (0.046) | −0.022 (0.053) | −0.033 (0.032) |
| Responds to malpractice concerns | 0.041 (0.030) | 0.045 (0.034) | 0.006 (0.021) |
| Observations | 978 | 978 | 978 |
| R2 (within) | 0.048 | 0.046 | 0.150 |
| R2 (between) | 0.075 | 0.009 | 0.117 |
| R2 (overall) | 0.059 | 0.040 | 0.157 |
Notes: All logit regressions include a constant, HRR-level random effects, and general physician-level controls. Additional explanatory variables include financial, organizational and responsiveness factors. The question on responding to referring doctor expectations appeared in the cardiologist survey only, and therefore represents the preferences of cardiologists only; the cardiology dummy variable therefore reflects both the pure effect of being a practicing cardiologist, and a secondary adjustment arising from the referral question being set to zero for all primary care physicians. All results are robust to including a measure of capacity (cardiologists per 100k Medicare beneficiaries) among the explanatory variables.