title: Choosing a family physician. What do patients want to know?
abstract: What type of information do patients find valuable when choosing a family physician? At a suburban Midwestern clinic, 221 adults rated the value of 12 demographic items and eight attributes pertaining to physicians. Of the demographic information, board certification was most valued by respondents; all personal attributes listed were rated very highly. Although 44% of women preferred a female physician, 93% of women agreed that, in general, male and female family physicians are equally competent. In summary, a physician's personal attributes and characteristics are of most importance to consumers when choosing a family physician. With the exception of board certification status, information about a physician's training or demographics is of much less value to patients. In addition, the information identified as most important in the survey is not typically provided by managed care organizations.
authors.affiliation: Health Partners Institute of Medical Education Family Medicine Residency Program, St. Paul, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Engstrom
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Madlon-Kay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002568:Certification; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family; D010822:Physicians, Women