Does competition in the out-patient sector improve quality of medical care? Evidence from administrative data

We use administrative data from the largest sickness fund in Germany to analyze the relationship between the district density of general and medical practitioner and the quality of care provided to the frail elderly. The quality of care is studied considering prescriptions of potentially inappropriate drugs. We find evidence for a significant positive effect of the share of general and medical practitioners in the population on the provided outpatient health care services.