Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39887854›Full record

ArticleHealth economics2025

The Effects of Resigning GPs on Patient Healthcare Utilization and Some Implications for Health.

Daniel Monsees, Matthias Westphal

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health economics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The consequences of medicine shortages on healthcare utilization and care fragmentation.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Daniel MonseesRWI Essen, Essen, Germany.
Matthias WestphalRWI Essen, Essen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1215-8863

Funding

Leibniz Science Campus Ruhr
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We study the effects of general practitioners' (GPs') resignations on their patients' healthcare utilization and diagnoses in an event-study setting. Using claims data from a large German statutory health insurance, we find that after physicians leave, their former patients persistently reduce their primary care utilization, only partially substituting it with specialist visits and hospital care. Because patients find a new GP already 1.1 quarters after the old resigns, on average, the persistent effects must be explained through the new GP. Indeed, the new GP serves more patients but performs less diagnostic testing. Our results reveal a substantial decrease in diagnoses of many relevant chronic conditions (such as congestive heart failure and diabetes), suggesting that disruptions may have adverse consequences for the efficiency of the healthcare system. This indicates that continuity in primary care is pivotal and shows that the GP has an essential role in healthcare delivery, particularly in healthcare systems such as Germany, where GPs often have a high workload and little consultation time.

Indexed as

General PractitionersPrimary Health CareAdultAgedFemaleGermanyHumansInsurance Claim ReviewMaleMiddle Agedgeneral practitionershealthcare expenditurehealthcare utilizationprimary care

Identifiers

PMID39887854
PMCPMC11961348

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.