Hours worked by general practitioners and waiting times for primary care
利用澳大利亚医生纵向调查数据，研究发现全科医生工作时间减少10%会使患者平均等待时间增加12%，揭示了医生劳动供给对初级保健可及性的重要影响。
The decline in the working hours of general practitioners (GPs) is a key factor influencing access to health care in many countries. We investigate the effect of changes in hours worked by GPs on waiting times in primary care using the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life longitudinal survey of Australian doctors. We estimate GP fixed effects models for waiting time and use family circumstances to instrument for GP's hours worked. We find that a 10% reduction in hours worked increases average patient waiting time by 12%. Our findings highlight the importance of GPs' labor supply at the intensive margin in determining the length of time patients must wait to see their doctor.