D4 Published development or research report or study

Information Integration, Coordination Failures, and Quality of Prescribing




AuthorsPetri Böckerman, Liisa T. Laine, Mikko Nurminen, Tanja Saxell

PublisherValtion taloudellinen tutkimuskeskus

Publication year2020

Series titleVATT Working Papers

Number in series135

ISBN978-952-274-260-5

eISBN1798-0291

Web address https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/178284

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/49842635


Abstract

Poor information flows hamper coordination, potentially leading to suboptimal decisions in health care. We examine the effects of a nationwide policy of information integration on the quality of prescribing. We use the rollout of an electronic prescribing system in Finland and prescription-level administrative data. We find no effect on the probability of co-prescribing harmful drug combinations in urban regions. In rural regions, this probability reduces substantially, by 35 percent. The effect is driven by prescriptions from unspecialized physicians and from multiple physicians. Improving the local information environment thus enhances coordination and narrows differences in the quality of prescribing.


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Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 10:27