What patients look for in a consultant
How do patients choose their consultants? Anne Coyne, consultant services manager at the Private Healthcare Information Network, has the answer.
At the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN), we exist to help patients make more informed private healthcare decisions.
Over the past few months, we have worked to better understand their healthcare journeys, information needs and priorities, expectations and experiences.
Building on past efforts by PHIN and other industry stakeholders, we have conducted new research – which includes qualitative focus groups and a quantitative UK-wide survey – engaging directly with patients who have used or would consider using private treatment.
We published the highlights of this research in our new publication, Patient Perspectives, which is available on our website.
While not everything in the report is a surprise to those working in healthcare, the research provides evidence to back up feelings and experience. In this article, we take a closer look at the data relevant to consultants and share some more detailed information.
Key factors in choosing a consultant
Reinforcing the importance of consultants completing their fee information on PHIN’s website, ‘Cost and payment options’ came out as the top factor influencing patients’ choice of consultant in our quantitative research, with 47% of the 2,036 respondents choosing this option.
However, this was very closely followed by the ‘Consultant’s qualifications’ and ‘Patient reviews/recommendations from family and friends’, which were both selected by 46% of respondents. ‘Clinical outcomes’ were also an important factor at 44%.
The full breakdown of responses for all respondents is in the box below.
Now let’s take a look in more detail at the key factors and break the findings down into different groups. We think this information could help consultants to know the areas to focus on when targeting and talking with potential patients.
Cost and payment options
These were important factors in our focus groups: ‘Very first thing I looked at was cost. It was just like either this is totally prohibitive or this is possible, because I’ve no idea how much it would cost.’ (Woman from London who received cosmetic surgery).
‘The most important part would be prices, so are they transparent about the prices? So I know I’m prepared for the cost and that there are no hidden fees.’ (Middle-aged private patient from the West Midlands)
In our quantitative survey, ‘Cost and payment options’ were slightly more important to female respondents (48%) than male ones (46%), but there was not a significant difference.
There was more variety in age groups, with 35- to 44-year-olds most likely to consider it important (53%) and those over 55 least likely to consider it important (41%).
When looking at percentages by working status, retired respondents were most likely to consider it important (40%), and those who were unemployed are least likely to consider it important (60%).
Respondents who had never married were much more likely to select ‘Cost and payment options’ (54%) than those who are widowed (29%).
There was very little difference in terms of demographic classification. Forty-seven per cent of those in the ABC1 category (higher and intermediate managerial, administrative and professional occupations and supervisory, clerical, and junior managerial, administrative and professional occupations) selected this factor and a similar 48% among those in the C2DE category (skilled manual workers, semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers, state pensioners, casual and lowest grade workers, unemployed with state benefits only).
Cost and payment options were most likely to be selected as important by patients in the East Midlands (55%) and least likely in Wales (38%).
Consultant’s qualifications
The ‘consultant’s qualifications’ category can also include providing information on the volume of procedures performed by consultants, research behaviour and interest in certain procedures/conditions, and scientific research as well as medical qualifications.
These qualification were significantly more important to female respondents surveyed (50%) than male ones (41%) when choosing their consultant.
They also became increasingly important depending on the respondent’s age, starting at 40% for 18- to 24-year-olds and rising to 48% for ages 45-54, 47% for 55-64, 48% for 65-74 and 52% for those aged 75+.
They were also significantly more important for those in the ABC1 category (48%) than the C2DE category (43%).
Qualifications were more likely to be seen as important in south-west England (53%) and least likely in Wales (31%).
Those who were not working valued ‘The consultant’s qualifications’ the most (52%), with full-time students much less likely to select it as important (36%). It is quite possible that someone out of work may need surgery and a good outcome in order to return to work.
Patient reviews and recommendations from family and friends
Reviews and recommendations are the joint second most important factor influencing the choice of consultant.
Patients value feedback from other people like them who have experience with a consultant. This is why we publish patient satisfaction feedback on the PHIN website.
The ability to get a ‘feel’ for the manner of the consultant came out as a major reason for wanting word-of-mouth/reviews in the focus groups too.
The breakdown of the quantitative figures provides more insight into who values reviews and recommendations the most.
Female respondents (51%) valued this factor significantly more highly than males (40%).
Reviews and recommendations were selected as important by a higher proportion of 45- to 54- year-olds and 65- to 74-year-olds (49%) than 35- to 44-year-olds (41%) or the 75+ group (39%).
Those in the higher socio-economic category placed more value (48%) on reviews and recommendations than those on the lower category (44%).
They had the highest selection among respondents from East Midlands (54%) and the lowest were those from Wales (30%).
One focus group attendee told us: ‘Independent reviews of everything you go through from previous patients is crucial as far as I’m concerned.’ (Middle-aged NHS chemotherapy patient).
How PHIN can help
Consultants have a legal duty to submit their fee information to PHIN, but the research shows that beyond that obligation, making information about fees available is a key factor in patient choice.
Patients want to know about the experience a consultant has had in performing a particular procedure.
This is why we ask consultants to review their data so that we can share this information on our website and patients have an accurate view of a consultant’s activity.
In addition, consultants can add profile details which cover many of the other factors patients use to select their consultant, and hospitals supply patient feedback information.
Providing a more complete profile and pointing patients in the direction of PHIN’s website is an opportunity for consultants to appeal to a range of patient choice factors that could benefit their business.
Anne Coyne
You can read our Patient Perspectives report by downloading it from www.phin.org.uk/news/patient-priorities-report.