title: Effects of competition on hospital quality: an examination using hospital administrative data.
abstract: This paper investigates the effects of competition on hospital quality using hospital administration data from the State of Victoria, Australia. Hospital quality is measured by 30-day mortality rates and 30-day unplanned readmission rates. Competition is measured by Herfindahl-Hirschman index and the numbers of competing public and private hospitals. The paper finds that hospitals facing higher competition have lower unplanned admission rates. However, competition is related negatively to hospital quality when measured by mortality, albeit the effects are weak and barely statistically significant. The paper also finds that the positive effect of competition on quality as measured by unplanned readmission differs greatly depending on whether the hospital is publicly or privately owned.
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Alfons
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palangkaraya
authors.forename: Jongsay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yong
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004465:Economic Competition / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D016304:Hospitals, Private / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D062072:Patient Acuity; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014739:Victoria