Does Patient Demand Contribute to the Overuse of Prescription Drugs?
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World Bank, Washington, DC
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This study conducted an experiment in
Mali to test whether patients pressure doctors to prescribe
medical treatment they do not necessarily need. The
experiment varied patients’ information about a discount for
antimalarial tablets and measured demand for both tablets
and costlier antimalarial injections. The study finds
evidence of patient-driven demand: informing patients about
the discount, instead of letting doctors decide to share
this information, increased discount use by 35 percent and
overall malaria treatment by 10 percent. These marginal
patients rarely had malaria, worsening the illness-treatment
match. Providers did not use the information advantage to
sell injections -- their use fell in both information conditions.
Palabras clave
MALARIA, PRESCRIPTION DRUG DEMAND, HEALTH CARE OVERUSE, DOCTOR-PATIENT INTERACTION, PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE