File Download

There are no files associated with this item.

  Links for fulltext
     (May Require Subscription)
Supplementary

Article: How do patients choose their doctors for primary care in a free market?

TitleHow do patients choose their doctors for primary care in a free market?
Authors
Keywordspatient choice
primary care
private/public
regular doctors
Issue Date2010
PublisherBlackwell Publishing Ltd.
Citation
Journal Of Evaluation In Clinical Practice, 2010, v. 16 n. 6, p. 1215-1220 How to Cite?
AbstractAims A recent trend in health care system is to provide more choices to the patients. This study surveyed the general public's choices for primary care in Hong Kong which has the setting of free choices for private or public service and also direct access to specialists. Methods We used a combined qualitative and quantitative approach. We held five focus group interviews with participants of different socio-economic categories. Information from the focus groups helped to design a questionnaire for random telephone interviews with members of the public aged 18 or above. Results There were 37 participants in the focus groups and 1647 respondents in the telephone survey. The most important factor for choosing a doctor was proximity to home or workplace, followed by quick relief from the illness. Once continuity of care had been established, distance was of less importance but comprehensive care was valued. Nearly 70% of the public had regular doctors. About 93% of the public would consult specialists directly when they thought they needed a specialist's opinion. Nearly 30% chose specialists for any medical care and 38% preferred specialists to also look after their primary care problems. Conclusion Convenient accessibility was the most important factor for the initial choice of primary care doctors by the general public. The perceived clinical proficiency of the doctor determined future continuity of care. Patients liked to have direct access to specialists. Though some chose to see the specialists even for primary care problems, most people had regular doctors who were likely to have the attributes of family doctors. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Persistent Identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/142510
ISSN
2023 Impact Factor: 2.1
2023 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.798
ISI Accession Number ID
Funding AgencyGrant Number
Central Policy Unit of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, ChinaHKU 7002-PPR-3
Funding Information:

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from the Central Policy Unit of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKU 7002-PPR-3).

References
Grants

 

DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorWun, YTen_HK
dc.contributor.authorLam, TPen_HK
dc.contributor.authorLam, KFen_HK
dc.contributor.authorGoldberg, Den_HK
dc.contributor.authorLi, DKTen_HK
dc.contributor.authorYip, KCen_HK
dc.date.accessioned2011-10-28T02:50:00Z-
dc.date.available2011-10-28T02:50:00Z-
dc.date.issued2010en_HK
dc.identifier.citationJournal Of Evaluation In Clinical Practice, 2010, v. 16 n. 6, p. 1215-1220en_HK
dc.identifier.issn1356-1294en_HK
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/142510-
dc.description.abstractAims A recent trend in health care system is to provide more choices to the patients. This study surveyed the general public's choices for primary care in Hong Kong which has the setting of free choices for private or public service and also direct access to specialists. Methods We used a combined qualitative and quantitative approach. We held five focus group interviews with participants of different socio-economic categories. Information from the focus groups helped to design a questionnaire for random telephone interviews with members of the public aged 18 or above. Results There were 37 participants in the focus groups and 1647 respondents in the telephone survey. The most important factor for choosing a doctor was proximity to home or workplace, followed by quick relief from the illness. Once continuity of care had been established, distance was of less importance but comprehensive care was valued. Nearly 70% of the public had regular doctors. About 93% of the public would consult specialists directly when they thought they needed a specialist's opinion. Nearly 30% chose specialists for any medical care and 38% preferred specialists to also look after their primary care problems. Conclusion Convenient accessibility was the most important factor for the initial choice of primary care doctors by the general public. The perceived clinical proficiency of the doctor determined future continuity of care. Patients liked to have direct access to specialists. Though some chose to see the specialists even for primary care problems, most people had regular doctors who were likely to have the attributes of family doctors. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.en_HK
dc.languageengen_US
dc.publisherBlackwell Publishing Ltd.en_US
dc.relation.ispartofJournal of Evaluation in Clinical Practiceen_HK
dc.rightsThe definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comen_US
dc.subjectpatient choiceen_HK
dc.subjectprimary careen_HK
dc.subjectprivate/publicen_HK
dc.subjectregular doctorsen_HK
dc.subject.meshAdult-
dc.subject.meshChoice Behavior-
dc.subject.meshMiddle Aged-
dc.subject.meshPatients - psychology-
dc.subject.meshPhysicians-
dc.titleHow do patients choose their doctors for primary care in a free market?en_HK
dc.typeArticleen_HK
dc.identifier.emailLam, TP: tplam@hku.hken_HK
dc.identifier.emailLam, KF: hrntlkf@hkucc.hku.hken_HK
dc.identifier.authorityLam, TP=rp00386en_HK
dc.identifier.authorityLam, KF=rp00718en_HK
dc.description.naturelink_to_subscribed_fulltext-
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/j.1365-2753.2009.01297.xen_HK
dc.identifier.pmid20695952-
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-78650606043en_HK
dc.identifier.hkuros184064en_US
dc.relation.referenceshttp://www.scopus.com/mlt/select.url?eid=2-s2.0-78650606043&selection=ref&src=s&origin=recordpageen_HK
dc.identifier.volume16en_HK
dc.identifier.issue6en_HK
dc.identifier.spage1215en_HK
dc.identifier.epage1220en_HK
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000285763900031-
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdomen_HK
dc.relation.projectIs there a need to promote family medicine concept in Hong Kong? - Meeting the need for recognition and treatment of depression as a model-
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridWun, YT=6701795798en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridLam, TP=55232643600en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridLam, KF=8948421200en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridGoldberg, D=7401442597en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridLi, DKT=37761694000en_HK
dc.identifier.scopusauthoridYip, KC=28168097100en_HK
dc.identifier.citeulike8619093-
dc.identifier.issnl1356-1294-

Export via OAI-PMH Interface in XML Formats


OR


Export to Other Non-XML Formats