View Research by Author - Eric A. Latimer

Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/EricALatimer

To learn more about the determinants of end-of-life costs, this study compares decedents' and survivors' use of physician services in the United States and two major Canadian provinces, Quebec and British Columbia. It is based on physician claims data for 1992 from the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration, the Quebec Ministry of Health, the British Columbia Ministry of Health, and a 1 percent random sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Physician service utilization for persons in their last six months of life, aggregated into relative value units, is compared by type of service with that of survivors. The authors also briefly discuss the differences in resources, values, and practice style between the two countries.

The goal of this report was to assess the relative volume and price of physician services in Canada and the United States through a comparative analysis of 1992 claims data from Canadian provincial ministries of health and from the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration. The study groups consisted of all the elderly in the three largest Canadian provinces and a 1 percent random sample of U.S. elderly Medicare beneficiaries. Patterns of use of physician services and procedures are described, and several possible explanations for differences between the patterns in the United States and Canada are suggested.

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