In this paper we examine utilization of general practitioner services within the context of a standard utility maximizing model. We focus on the role of health status and income in determining GP utilization. English data from wave eleven of the British Household Panel Survey are used to explain...

There is a temptation for the debate on reducing GP utilization to employ terms such as ‘appropriate’ or ‘unnecessary’, terms that are in fact value-laden. The meaning of such terms is rarely defined explicitly, perhaps reflecting the lack of consensus on the nature of services that...