Relational capital in referrer networks of medical specialists in office settings

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to explore the association of the Relational Capital (RC) embedded in a medical specialist’s social–professional network with the specialist’s economic performance based on social network analysis (SNA).Design/methodology/approachUsing health insurance claims data regarding ∼108,000 physicians treating ∼72,000,000 patients, social–professional networks (patient-sharing-networks (PSNs)) of ∼26,000 medical specialists were simulated. To explore the correlation of the network's characteristics (degree centrality, density, relative betweenness centrality and referrer concentration) with economic performance, ordinary-least-squares (OLS)-regression models were estimated for ten common specialties (gynecology, internal medicine, orthopedics, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology, urology, neurology, radiology and rehabilitative medicine).FindingsThe study confirms the applicability and strong explanatory power of SNA metrics for RC measurement in ambulatory healthcare. Degree centrality and relative betweenness centrality correlate positively with economic performance, whereas density and referrer concentration exhibit negative coefficients. These results confirm the argument that RC has a strong association with the economic performance of medical specialists.Originality/valueThe study pioneers SNA for RC measurement in healthcare. It is among the first publications on specialists' PSNs. Questions for future research are proposed.