Physician Heal Thyself
We find that all of these treatments reduce antibiotics prescriptions, suggesting that antibiotics abuse in China is not driven by patients actively demanding antibiotics, by physicians believing that patients want antibiotics, or by physicians believing that antibiotics are in the best interests of their patients, but is largely driven by financial incentives. Our results also show that physician behavior can be significantly influenced by the receipt of a token gift, such as a pen.
Source: NBER working paper.
It’s a shame when someone who dedicates their career to helping people is lured away by profits instead.
I wonder in how many other countries this is going on in.
India, for one.