How Patients Choose Providers
A new research report confirms what NP practice owners have been telling ADVANCE for years: Word of mouth trumps advertising. By a lot.
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Studying Health System Change found that, of the 17 million consumers choosing a new primary care provider in 2007, most based their choice on the recommendations of family members and friends. More than half (50.3%) of survey respondents said they used this source of information to find a new provider, and 26.9% said this was the only source they used.
Health plan and other health care provider recommendations were the next most used sources of information (34.7% and 38.1%, respectively). Only 2.2% of shoppers said they considered TV or radio ads. Books, magazines or newspapers were consulted by 6.8%. The Internet contributed to the decisions of 10.8%.
For more details, see the report here.