How to Determine the Optimal Number of Cardiologists in a Region?

Abstract

This paper proposes an approach to determining the optimal number of medical specialists in a particular territory. According to the author’s theoretical model, in order to maximise public welfare, the marginal contribution of the last physician recruited to the growth of the public utility function should be equal to the marginal cost of attracting them and providing conditions for their work. To empirically assess the contribution of physicians to the number of lives saved, the CVD mortality rate is modelled using the instrumental variable method. At the level of provision of cardiologists in the amount of 1 per 100,000 people, their marginal contribution to the number of lives saved is not less than 124 per 100,000 people, with a further decrease of 10 per 100,000 people with an increase in the level of provision of one unit. The use of the obtained results will increase the validity of managerial decisions and improve the determination of the optimal number of doctors when choosing between alternative possibilities of spending money on hiring doctors with different profiles or other expenses, especially in the case of limited resources.