Patients’ choice between public and private hospital emergency departments: a cross-sectional survey
- 19 September 2017
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Emergency Medicine Australasia
- Vol. 29 (6), 635-642
- https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.12841
Abstract
The aim of this study was to understand what factors influence patients’ choice between public and private hospital ED and the relative weight of those factors among adult patients with private health insurance in Australia. A survey of 280 patients was conducted in four public and private hospitals’ EDs in Brisbane between May and August 2015. The survey included information about respondent's demographics, nature of illness, decision-making, attitudes and choice. Independent t-test and Pearson's χ²-test were used to identify binary associations, and logistic regression was used to determine what factors influence patients’ choice. Patients who agreed that ‘long waiting time is a barrier to access public hospital ED’ were twice as likely to choose private hospitals (odds ratio [OR] 2.172, P = 0.001). Alternatively patients who did not consider that ‘there were long waiting times in public hospital ED’ were less likely to access private hospitals (OR 0.200, P = 0.003). More public hospital patients (70.7%) than private hospital patients (56.4%) (P = 0.015) agreed that ‘out-of-pocket payment is a barrier to accessing private hospital ED’. Patients attending private hospitals rated the quality of service higher than those attending public hospitals (OR 1.26, P = 0.001). Longer waiting times in public EDs is the principal issue considered by patients choosing private EDs and the out-of-pocket payment for accessing private EDs is the principal issue considered by public ED patients. The study suggests that addressing the out-of-pocket payments will attract more patients with private health insurance to access private EDs.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- The factors that influence private health insurance holders' choice between public and private emergency departments at the time of emergencyPublished by Queensland University of Technology ,2017
- Qualitative study of patients' choice between public and private hospital emergency departmentsEmergency Medicine Australasia, 2016
- Public use and perceptions of emergency departments: A population surveyEmergency Medicine Australasia, 2015
- Why do patients choose to attend a private emergency department?Emergency Medicine Australasia, 2014
- Demand for public hospital emergency department services in Australia: 2000–2001 to 2009–2010Emergency Medicine Australasia, 2011
- Myths versus facts in emergency department overcrowding and hospital access blockThe Medical Journal of Australia, 2009
- Motivating People to Be Physically ActivePublished by Bloomsbury Academic ,2009
- Access block causes emergency department overcrowding and ambulance diversion in Perth, Western AustraliaEmergency Medicine Journal, 2005
- Reducing patient time in the emergency departmentThe Medical Journal of Australia, 2003
- Entry overload, emergency department overcrowding, and ambulance bypassEmergency Medicine Journal, 2003