Time Constraints and Productivity in Health Care

This paper explores how reviewing time affects the physicians' decisions. Insufficient examination time may hamper the physicians' care and diagnostic provision, leaving physicians more inclined to over-prescribe medication. I test this prediction using high frequency data from a Spanish outpatient department and leverage on cancellations as exogenous time shocks. I find that longer visits lead to higher testing intensity, lower prescription rate, and higher diagnostic provision. These effects are driven by i) junior physicians, who use this extra time to compensate for their more overloaded shifts, and ii) local patients, for whom outpatient departments receive additional funds