abstract: 'Objective For a long time in China, public hospitals have been the most

  prominent provider of healthcare. However, recent policy reforms mean

  the private sector is experiencing rapid development. Thus, the purpose

  of this study is to detect whether the policies published by the

  government aimed to improve the quality of healthcare services were

  catering to patient''s preferences.

  Participants and methods Our work uses dental care as an example of

  services provided in outpatient setting and takes advantage of a

  labelled discrete choice experiment with a random sample of respondents

  from Beijing. Participants were asked to make a choice between four

  healthcare providers with different attributes. Mixed logit and latent

  class models were used for the analysis.

  Result Care provided by high-level private hospitals and community

  hospitals were valued RMB154 and 216 less, respectively, than care

  provided by class A tertiary hospitals, while the most disliked provider

  was private clinics. This was the most valued attribute of dental care.

  Respondents also value: lower waiting times, the option to choose their

  doctor, lower treatment costs, shorter travel times and a clean waiting

  room. However, when the level of provider was analysed, the prevailing

  notion that patients in China were always likely to choose public

  services than private services no longer holds. Four classes of patients

  with distinct preferences for dental care provider choice were

  identified, which can partly be explained by age, income, experience and

  Hukou status-a household registration permit.

  Discussion The study to some extent challenged the overwhelming

  predominance of public healthcare providers in China. The preference

  heterogeneity we found was relatively large. Our findings are

  significant for providers in developing more specific services for

  patients and for policymakers in weighing the pros and cons of future

  initiatives in medical reform.'
affiliation: 'Li, JL (Corresponding Author), Beijing Inst Technol, Sch Management
  \& Econ, Beijing, Peoples R China.

  Zhu, Jingrong; Li, Jinlin; Zhang, Zengbo; Li, Hao; Cai, Lingfei, Beijing Inst Technol,
  Sch Management \& Econ, Beijing, Peoples R China.'
article-number: e023363
author: Zhu, Jingrong and Li, Jinlin and Zhang, Zengbo and Li, Hao and Cai, Lingfei
author-email: 1013899896@qq.com
author_list:
- family: Zhu
  given: Jingrong
- family: Li
  given: Jinlin
- family: Zhang
  given: Zengbo
- family: Li
  given: Hao
- family: Cai
  given: Lingfei
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023363
files: []
issn: 2044-6055
journal: BMJ OPEN
keywords-plus: URBAN CHINA; CARE; SATISFACTION; HOSPITALS; PHYSICIAN; REFORM
language: English
month: JUN
number: '4'
number-of-cited-references: '49'
orcid-numbers: 'Zhu, Jingrong/0000-0002-5607-0329

  Zhu, Jingrong/0000-0002-4508-2340

  Li, Hao/0000-0001-9149-9457'
papis_id: 15dc7635de32ce1d0e74aea3f50b1749
ref: Zhu2019exploringdeterminant
times-cited: '15'
title: 'Exploring determinants of health provider choice and heterogeneity in preference
  among outpatients in Beijing: a labelled discrete choice experiment'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000471157200025
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '18'
volume: '9'
web-of-science-categories: Medicine, General \& Internal
year: '2019'