ArticleThe European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care2025
The effect of workload on primary care doctors on referral rates and prescription patterns: evidence from English NHS.
Article in The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Examining patient-centered vs. doctor-centered attitudes among Austrian general practitioners : A cross-sectional study on time constraints and care orientation.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2026Article
- Financing Regimes and Case-Mix Complexity in Psychiatric Hospitals Beyond the Pandemic Shock-Insights from a Regional European Healthcare System.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
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- Assessment of UK healthcare workers' knowledge, attitudes and practice towards antibiotics, antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance: comparing findings from 2019 and 2024 national surveys.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Article
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- Yonder: Impact of workload, sleep apnoea and dementia, ethics of lateness, and registrar professional identity.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Article
- Healthcare Consultations for People with Chronic Conditions and Disabilities: Managing Cyber-Victimisation Impact and Training Needs.Health services insights · 2025Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of workload pressure on primary care outcomes using a unique dataset from English general practices. Leveraging the absence of General Practitioner (GP) colleagues as an instrumental variable, we find that increased workload leads to an increase in prescription rates of antibiotics as well as in the share of assessment referrals. On the other hand, the quantity and frequency of psychotropics decreases. When there is an absence, workload is intensified mostly on GP partners, and the mode of consultation shifts toward remote interactions as a response to higher workload pressure. The effects are more pronounced for patients above 65 years-old and those in Short-staffed practices. Our study sheds light on the intricate relationship between workload pressure and patient care decisions in primary care settings.
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