Abstract

AbstractMedical labour markets are important because of their size and the importance of medical labour in the production of healthcare and in subsequent patient outcomes. We present a summary of important trends in the UK medical labour market, and we review the latest research on factors that determine medical labour supply and the impact of labour on patient outcomes. The topics examined include: the responsiveness of labour supply to changes in wages, regulation and other incentives; factors that determine the wide variation in physician practice and style; and the effect of teams and management quality on patient outcomes. This literature reveals that while labour supply is relatively unresponsive to changes in wages, medical personnel do react strongly to other incentives, even in the short run. This is likely to have consequences for the quality of care provided to patients. We set out a series of unanswered questions in the UK setting, including: the importance of non‐financial incentives in recruiting and retaining medical staff; how individuals can be incentivised to work in particular specialties and regions; and how medical teams can be best organised to improve care.

Highlights

  • Healthcare systems around the world face the twin problems of increasing demand and increasing costs of supply

  • This review examined a large set of issues in medical labour supply including market failures and government intervention in medical labour markets, medical labour supply elasticities and variation in productivity across organisations and markets, from both theoretical and empirical perspectives

  • In the face of rising demand for healthcare, determining the size and shape of the medical workforce is a key priority for policymakers across the world

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Summary

Introduction

Healthcare systems around the world face the twin problems of increasing demand and increasing costs of supply. Recent estimates from the UK suggest that an ageing population alone will increase demand for healthcare by 3.3 percent over the 15 years.. The demand for healthcare is likely to rise by even more as income increases and technological advancements raise expectations of what the healthcare system should provide. As the UK publicly provides healthcare, meeting this rise in demand will require some combination of increased taxes, lower spending elsewhere and more efficient ways of producing healthcare. The increased demand for care means staffing (and the related financing) issues are central to the UK policy agenda

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