U. S. medical graduates versus foreign medical graduates. Are there performance differences in practice?

This study has attempted to determine the relationship between physicians' medical education and their performances (technical quality and utilization of medical care resources) in offices and hospitals. The sample consisted of 506 physicians of Hawaii, involving 18 specialty categories. The study finds little evidence of the influence of the type of medical schools on physicians' technical quality and utilization of medical resources in practice. The mean differences between the categories of medical schools were not statistically significant (except for the quality when specialists practiced within their own areas of specialization). There is no evidence that all categories of U.S. medical graduates provided a higher quality care and better utilization than all categories of foreign medical graduates. There was no consistent pattern of performances within the categories of U.S. medical schools and of foreign medical schools in these dimensions of performances.