ÖйúÒ»¼¶Æ¬

This paper studies the productivity of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physicians, two professions performing overlapping tasks but with stark differences in background, training, and pay. Using quasi-experimental variation in patient assignment to NPs versus physicians in 44 Veterans Health Administration emergency departments, we find that, on average, NPs use more resources but achieve less favorable patient outcomes relative to physicians. The costs of lower productivity surpass the pay differences between the professions. However, even larger productivity variation exists within each profession, leading to substantial productivity overlap between the two professions. Within professions, wages and assigned patient complexity vary only weakly with productivity.

scoco@ceibs.edu