Patient education and the impact of new medical research
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Author
Simon, Kosali
Abstract
We examine the impact that medical research published in peer-reviewed journals has on the practice of medicine. We exploit the release of a recent New England Journal of Medicine article which demonstrated that the risks of attempting a vaginal birth after having a previous C-section birth (VBAC) were higher than previously thought. We find that immediately following this article, the national VBAC rate dropped by 16% and this change was largest among more educated mothers, particularly those with a graduate degree.
Date Issued
2009
Publisher
Elsevier
Keywords
Previously Published as
Journal of Health Economics
Type
article