The determinants of biological prescription in French hospitals

Abstract

We present in this paper the first stage of a broader work, the aim of which is to better understand the volume, modalities, determinants and cost-benefit ratio of the medical prescription in hospitals. Through a sample of 1800 patients observed in 1978 and 1979, in 18 medical or surgical services of 6 French hospitals of different size, statue and location, we have pursued a double objective: first, to establish the basic elements of an 'observatory' of the biological prescription in order to quantify this prescription; secondly, to shed some light on the factors which might explain the differences observed between hospitals, services and diseases. Linear and non-linear econometric models have been used to perform the analysis of the 252,000 data that had been collected. This research has given rise to an evaluation of the informative content of the diagnostic tests ordered by the physicians. This analysis is discussed further in the present volume.