Kickbacks to Doctors and Patient Awareness
Grant Data
Project Title
Kickbacks to Doctors and Patient Awareness
Principal Investigator
Professor Fong, Yuk Fai
(Principal Investigator (PI))
Co-Investigator(s)
Professor meng Xiaoxuan
(Co-Investigator)
Duration
30
Start Date
2019-01-01
Amount
443447
Conference Title
Kickbacks to Doctors and Patient Awareness
Presentation Title
Keywords
Credence Good, Doctor, Kickback, Laboratory Test, Referral
Discipline
Economics
HKU Project Code
16500018
Grant Type
General Research Fund (GRF)
Funding Year
2018
Status
Completed
Objectives
1) The first objective of our project is to develop and fully solve a formal theoretical model to study the practice of referral to medical labs and the medical labs' practice of sending kickbacks to the referring doctors; 2) By exploring extensions and comparative statics of the model, we would draw conclusion on the effects of feasibility of kickbacks on the laboratories', the doctor's and the patient's payoffs. Do doctors and the laboratories necessarily earn higher profits in equilibrium when kickbacks are allowed? 3) By considering different levels of consumer awareness, we study how kickbacks may impact the market outcome differently depending on whether consumers are aware or not aware of the kickbacks? 4) Our analysis also allows us to access the effectiveness of anti-kickback law and characterize the optimal anti-kickback law; 5) By comparing with an alternative model of kickbacks from drug companies to doctors, we can analyze how different types of kickbacks may impact the market outcome differently.