Association Between Patient Value Systems and Physician and Practice Attributes Available Online.

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Health Services Research
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Increasing patient out-of-pocket expenses highlight the need to understand surgeon attribute valuation.
• Patient perspectives are crucial in shaping healthcare market dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the relative importance of specific facial plastic surgeon personal and practice attributes from the patient's viewpoint.
• To assess how factors like outcome transparency, training, ratings, and price influence patient selection.

Main Methods:

• An electronic survey using choice-based conjoint analysis was administered to patients.
• Key attributes evaluated included outcome transparency, surgical training affiliations, online ratings, and price.
• Data were collected from patients registered with three private facial plastic surgery practices.

Main Results:

• Outcome transparency was the most valued attribute, significantly impacting patient preference.
• Price was the least valued attribute among the factors studied.
• Surgeons with high outcome transparency achieved a greater market share, even at higher price points or with lower ratings.

Conclusions:

• Facial plastic surgery patients place the highest value on surgeons who provide transparent outcome data.
• High outcome transparency can mitigate the negative impact of lower online ratings or institutional affiliations.
• Outcome transparency is a critical factor in the facial plastic surgery market.