Preferences for access to the GP: a discrete choice experiment.
Greg Rubin1, Angela Bate, Ajay George
1Centre for Primary and Community Care, University of Sunderland, Green Terrace, Sunderland SR1 3PZ. greg.rubin@sunderland.ac.uk
Summary
Patients often prioritize choosing their doctor or appointment time over faster access to a general practitioner (GP). Convenience and doctor choice significantly outweigh speed for many when booking GP appointments.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Primary Care Medicine
- Patient Preferences
Background:
- The NHS Plan emphasizes rapid access to primary care, with targets for seeing health professionals and general practitioners (GPs).
- However, the relative importance patients place on speed of access versus other primary care aspects remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate patient preferences for routine general practitioner (GP) appointments.
- To analyze trade-offs between speed of access, appointment time choice, and doctor choice across different patient demographics.
Main Methods:
- A discrete choice experiment was employed.
- Data collected from 1153 adult patients across six general practices in Sunderland.
- Questionnaires presented choice sets based on appointment time, doctor choice, and time to appointment.
Main Results:
- Waiting time was crucial only for child appointments or new health issues.
- Patients frequently traded shorter waiting times for the ability to choose their doctor or appointment time.
- Working patients prioritized time choice sixfold over waiting time; those with chronic illnesses valued doctor choice significantly.
Conclusions:
- Speed of access holds limited importance for patients seeking GP appointments.
- Patient choice of GP and appointment convenience often supersede the need for immediate access.
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