Hospital Outshopping: Determinant Attributes and Hospital Choice

While hospital outshopping is becoming a significant problem for hospital administrators, little research exists in this area. Some health care studies have focused on the attributes deemed important by the consumer in choosing one hospital over another; however, not all service attributes are equally important in determining consumer preferences for hospitals. The authors describe an approach for calculating determinant attributes that rural consumers deem important and those in which these consumers perceive differences among hospitals.