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Regulatory Mechanisms

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Encyclopedia of Public Health
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Synonyms

Regulation

Definition

Market failures would be imminent in most unregulated health care markets. Thus, regulatory mechanisms influence the way health care systems are financed and the way demand and supply in health care systems are determined. On the supply side, regulatory mechanisms strive to solve agency problems in the relationship between patients and health care professionals by introducing payment systems. However, little progress has made in designing payment schemes that encourage physicians to act as perfect agents for their patients as well as for third-party payers .

Basic Characteristics

Designers of health care systems around the world use a variety of regulatory mechanisms in order to overcome market failures that would be imminent in unregulated health care markets. Competitive health insurance systems need to overcome adverse selection. Comprehensive coverage leads to moral hazardand a relationship between patient and physician that has severe agency...

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Greß, S. (2008). Regulatory Mechanisms . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_2965

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_2965

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5613-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5614-7

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