A Doctor Will See You Now: Physician-Patient Relationships and Clinical Decisions

Abstract

We provide novel estimates of the causal impact of physician-patient relationships on physicians’ decisions. Exploiting quasi-random assignment of patients to OBs at childbirth, we find OBs are 25% likelier to perform C-sections when delivering patients they have a preexisting clinical relationship with (their “own patients”). This effect is increasing in the relationship’s strength. OBs also curtail labor sooner, are less likely to employ other invasive procedures (e.g., vacuum or forceps), and avoid complications of long and difficult births for their own patients.