Monitoring technology and firm boundaries: physician-hospital integration and technology utilization

Jeffrey S McCullough; Eli M Snir

doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.03.003

Monitoring technology and firm boundaries: physician-hospital integration and technology utilization

J Health Econ. 2010 May;29(3):457-67. doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.03.003. Epub 2010 Mar 15.

Authors

Jeffrey S McCullough¹, Eli M Snir

Affiliation

¹ Division of Health Administration and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Mayo Mail Code 729, 420 Delaware Street SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0329, USA. [email protected] <[email protected]>

PMID: 20398953
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2010.03.003

Abstract

We study the relationship between physician-hospital integration and its relation to monitoring IT utilization. We develop a theoretical model in which monitoring IT may complement or substitute for integration and test these relationships using a novel data source. Physician labor market heterogeneity identifies the empirical model. We find that monitoring IT utilization is increasing in integration, implying that expanded firm boundaries complement monitoring IT adoption. We argue that the relationship between monitoring IT and firm boundaries depends upon the contractibility of the monitored information.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cost Savings / economics
Costs and Cost Analysis / economics
Hospital Administration
Hospital Information Systems / economics
Hospital Information Systems / statistics & numerical data*
Hospital-Physician Relations*
Models, Organizational
Ownership
Systems Integration
Technology Assessment, Biomedical