Miguel Alquézar Yus is a PhD Candidate in Economics at the European University Institute, under the supervision of Michèle Belot and Sule Alan. His research interests are in Political Economy, Culture and Institutions, and Labor Economics.

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Abstract

This paper explores how reviewing time affects physicians' medical decisions. Insufficient examination time may hamper physicians' care and diagnostic provision, leaving physicians more inclined to over-prescribe medication. I test this prediction using high-frequency data from a Spanish outpatient department and leverage on-the-day cancellations as exogenous time shocks. I find that longer visits lead to more valuable care, measured by the provision of more detailed diagnoses, to higher testing intensity, and to lower drug prescriptions. These effects are driven by junior physicians, who use this extra time to compensate for their more overloaded shifts.

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