{
  "abstract": "Objectives To explore factors important to patients when choosing a secondary care provider.Methods A survey was distributed to 376 participants at Moorfields Eye Hospital comprising both free-text responses and Likert scale elements. Word frequency analysis was applied to free-text responses, and K-means analysis to identify clusters from Likert responses.Results Reputation, expertise, quality of care and clinical outcomes were the most important factors driving patient preference—more so than practicalities such as travel, ease of access, parking and proximity to healthcare provider. One of two identified clusters of patients appeared to place higher value on societal benefits (eg, sustainability, carbon footprint minimisation, cost-efficiency for National Health Service (NHS)) than the other.Discussion The current NHS approach of highlighting travel distance, wait times and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings when presenting choice is inadequate to support informed choice of provider. Further work in a more representative cohort and exploration of real-world patient decisions is warranted.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK",
        "Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Rishi Ramessur"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Roxanne Crosby-Nwaobi"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Claire Lovegrove"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Julia Theodossiades"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Rachel Thomas"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Estelle Ioannidou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Radhika Rampat"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK",
        "NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology, Joint Library of Ophthalmology Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Peter B M Thomas"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Exploring factors influencing patient choice in outpatient ophthalmology provider in the North London region: a patient survey",
  "uid": "cd9dc157-d14a-5118-ac1b-6657848a1c73"
}