Choosing a Provider: What Factors Matter Most to Consumers and Patients?

Abstract

Enhancing consumer and patient choice has been proposed as a means to improve care quality and reduce health-related costs. Choosing a medical provider is one of the most critical and often complex decisions patients make about their health care. We investigated the perceived importance of factors patients may consider when selecting a practitioner and if rated importance of the factors varies with their characteristics and prior experiences with different types of clinicians (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners). Participants most often identified medical license, certification, and whether the provider accepts the patients’ health insurance as important, while provider type, others’ recommendations, and online reviews were among the least important. We found wide-ranging differences based on patient characteristics. Prior experience with providers was also a strong determinant of patterns of factors patients considered valuable. Policy-makers, health systems, insurers, and providers need to take into account that patients rely on a range of factors that vary based on their distinct needs, backgrounds, and previous experiences—requiring tailored information to make more informed decisions.

Factors Which Influence Patient Choice When Choosing a Hand Therapist

“…Factors which influence how patients choose healthcare providers have been described in numerous studies, using different questions, different ranking systems, and scales [1]- [8]. Kozikowski et al, in a recent study, investigated the perceived importance of factors patients consider when choosing a healthcare provider [1]. They used a 3-category response scale of "important," "not important" and "not sure."…”

“…Our findings are consistent with what others have noted for other professions. When choosing a healthcare provider, certification and insurance coverage are among the top influencing factors [1]- [6]. This information provides referring physicians with key insights that may be critical for patient compliance and continuity of care.…”

“…While there are studies that investigate factors considered by patients when choosing other medical providers, we are not aware of a study which examines factors that matter to a patient when choosing a hand therapist [1]- [8].…”

Voice of the Customer: Factors Impacting Beneficiary Choice of Programs in TRICARE

“…10 Given evidence showing the importance of patient choice in healthcare. [11][12][13] and lack of studies evaluating TRICARE beneficiary preference, we sought to ask beneficiaries what they valued in their healthcare plan in order to inform future decisions impacting beneficiaries. The aim of this study is to evaluate factors driving TRICARE beneficiary values and plan choice in an environment where no or little economic factors exist using the second stage of Klinkman's analytical framework.…”