A Panel Data Analysis of Productive Efficiency in Freestanding Health Clinics.

By using a panel data on a number of freestanding health clinics in New York State over 1984-87, the authors have estimated the production function for ambulatory care after controlling for unmeasured clinic-specific managerial efficiency. They found significant differences in management efficiency, which peaks around 50,500 visits per year. The optimal staffing ratio between doctors, extenders, and nurses was found to be around 1:1/3:1, in order for a clinic to be on the efficiency frontier.