Physician Competition and Quality of Care : Empirical Evidence from Medicare ’ s Physician Quality Reporting System

Using data on physician treatment quality from Medicare’s Physician Compare Quality Reporting System, this study explores the effects of physician practice competition on five distinct quality metrics directly tied to screening and follow-up care. Controlling for physician and practice attributes, it finds strong evidence that physicians in moderately and highly concentrated physician service markets have lower quality ratings than those in unconcentrated markets. Exploring differentiated effects across primary care and specialist providers, the results are predominately driven by primary care physicians. JEL Classification I11, L11 *Department of Finance and Economics, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8152, Statesboro, GA 30458, cbrunt@georgiasouthern.edu †Department of Economics, University of Mississippi, 229 North Hall, University, MS 38677, jrhendr1@olemiss.edu ‡Department of Economics, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, jbowblis@miamiOH.edu