title: Using Conjoint Analysis to Elicit GPs' Preferences for Family Physician Contracts: A Case Study in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Family physician plans in Iran face several challenges, one of which is developing attractive and efficient contracts that motivate physicians to participate in the plan.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to elicit GPs' preferences for family physician contracts.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a cross-sectional study using the conjoint analysis technique, 580 GPs selected from the family physician database in Iran in 2014. Through qualitative and quantitative methods, 18 contract scenarios were developed via orthogonal design i.e., the impact of each attribute is measured independently from changes in other attributes and a questionnaire was developed. Data were collected through this questionnaire and analyzed using the ordered logistic regression (OLR) model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that "quotas for admission to specialized courses" is the strongest preference of GPs (β = 1.123). In order of importance, the other preferences are having the right to provide services outside of the specified package (β = 0.962), increased number of covered population (β = 0.814), capitation payment + 15% bonus (β = 0.644), increased catchment area to 5 km (β = 0.349), and increased length of contract to five years (β = 0.345).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The conjoint analysis results show that GPs concerned about various factors of family physician contracts. These results can be helpful for policy-makers as they complete the process of creating family physician plans, which can help increase the motivation of GPs to participate in the plan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Economics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran; Health Policy Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ranjbar Ezatabadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Economics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rashidian
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shariati
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahimi Foroushani
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management and Economics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akbari Sari
keywords: Contracts; General Practitioners; Iran; logistic Models