The validity of self-reported physician utilization measures

Abstract

Respondents’ reports of outpatient medical care use in the preceeding year are compared with actual utilization. The authors examine the predictors of the discrepancy between reported and actual utilizaton as well as the extent to which reporting error biases models of utilization behavior. The average reporting error in this study is relatively small, but the impact of biased reporting on prediction models can be substantial. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers.