Eliciting Consumer Decision-Making in Health Care - A Qualitative Study on Hospital Choice Behavior

During the last decade, the traditional paternalistic approach to decisions in the realm of health care has been progressively replaced by the understanding of patients as sovereign consumers of medical services. However, patients’ decision strategies with regard to hospital choice are barely explored. This study fills this gap by developing a comprehensive, behavior-oriented hospital choice model. Based on an exploratory, qualitative approach, the model links relevant situational and patient-related factors with key strategies in the hospital choice process. Finally, the derived propositions complete the framework and highlight further research potential.