title: Do the Preferences of Healthcare Provider Selection Vary among Rural and Urban Patients with Different Income and Cause Different Outcome?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Equal access to healthcare facilities and high-level quality of care are important strategies to eliminate the disparity in outcome of care. However, the existing literature regarding how urban or rural dwelling patients with different income level select healthcare providers is insufficient. The purposes of this study were to examine whether differences of healthcare provider selection exist among urban and rural coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) patients with different income level. If so, we further investigated the associated impact on mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective, multilevel study design was conducted using claims data from 2007-2011 Taiwan's Universal Health Insurance Scheme. Healthcare providers' performance and patients' travelling distance to hospitals were used to define the patterns of healthcare provider selection. Baron and Kenny's procedures for mediation effect were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 10,108 CABG surgeries included in this study. The results showed that urban dwelling and higher income patients were prone to receive care from better-performance providers. The travelling distances of urban dwelling patients was 15 KM shorter, especially when they received better-performance provider's care. The results also showed that the difference of healthcare provider selection and mortality rate existed between rural and urban dwelling patients with different income levels. After the procedure of mediation effect testing, the results showed that the healthcare provider selection partially mediated the relationships between patients' residential areas with different income levels and 30-day mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preferences of healthcare provider selection vary among rural and urban patients with different income, and such differences partially mediated the outcome of care. Health authorities should pay attention to this issue, and propose appropriate solutions to eliminate the disparity in outcome of CABG care.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Hsien
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Piao
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Jen
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-Liong
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Chien
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Chinese Medicine, Tao-Yuan General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taoyuan, Taiwan.|Department of Bioscience Technology, Chuan-Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000401:mortality*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006282:Health Personnel; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D057240:Patient Preference; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data