title: The impact of tiered physician networks on patient choices.
abstract: Patients exhibited strong loyalty to their physicians. There was no impact of tiering on whether patients decided to switch away from a physician who they'd seen previously. (2) Tiering affected the choices of patients who were selecting new physicians. When patients visited a doctor for the first time, they were less likely to choose doctors in the bottom or non-preferred tier. (3) Patients of the lowest-ranked physicians were more likely to switch health plans following the introduction of tiered networks.
authors.affiliation: AcademyHealth, Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO), USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blecker
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D006801:Humans; D010358:Patient Participation; D010820:Physicians / Q000592:standards*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D014481:United States