Background: Information asymmetry between physicians and patients is one of the most unique characteristics of health care. But as consumerism spreads in health care sector, health care consumers are searching comparative information about quality and cost of providers from many information sources. Providing comparative information to health care consumers not only makes consumers choose hospital rationally, but also invigorates the health care market by providers' competition. However there are few studies regarding information searching behavior of health care consumers, then this study is carried out. Methods: The purpose of this study is to understand the information searching behavior of health care consumers based on their characteristics and the types of medical institutions. For this purpose, 313 spinal patients' data of 11 medical institutions (university hospital, spine specialized hospital, clinic) located in Seoul were collected by self-administered surveys. Results: The results of this study are as follows: 1) t-test/analysis of variance analysis showed that according to various characteristics of health care consumers and the types of medical institutions, the level of information searching of each source and the amount of information searching and searching outcomes are statistically different. 2) Regression analysis showed that influence on searching outcomes are statistically different according to the level of information searching of each source and searching content and the amount of information searching has positive effects on searching outcomes. Conclusion: The significance of this study is to provide empirical basis for establishment of health care policy reflecting information needs and preference of health care consumers.
