[The phenomenon of the inducement of demand and various concepts in the economics of health].

The article looks at the behaviour of practitioners and patients from an economic point of view, in particular at supplier-induced demand (SID). The objective is to be able to describe the factors which impact on the market for health care. To define the market for health care/dental care in general and the SID concept in particular, the following economic terminology is relevant. uncertainty, asymmetric information, moral hazard, and the agency relationship between practitioner and patient. Essentially SID results from the existence of asymmetric information (information "gap") on the health care market. The patient is less informed than the practitioner and cannot accurately assess his need for medical care. Hence decision-making authority is delegated to the practitioner who acts as the patient's agent to determine the optimal (amount of) care. This enables the practitioner to influence the demand for medical/dental care. If the practitioner is more interested in the rate of return than in the patient s need for care, a difference might arise between the care recommended by the practitioner and the care the patient would have asked for if he had the same level of information as the practitioner. This difference is called the amount of SID.