Choosing Providers for Select Services and Procedures: Consumers' Experiences and Preferences

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this report is to assist New York State (NYS) in the design of an All Payer Database (APD) that is reflective of the priorities and needs of healthcare consumers. It is one of a series of reports from The New York Academy of Medicine describing discussions with consumers focused on healthcare choices and the processes used to make those choices. This report describes findings from interviews with 30 NYS healthcare consumers who used one or more healthcare services described in a previous Academy report1 and which fall into the following categories: (1) services traditionally seen as “shoppable” by healthcare payers and policymakers; (2) services of notable interest to healthcare consumers based on consumer-focused research; and (3) services that align with NYS’s broader health agenda, including advanced primary care models and the prevention and management of chronic diseases. Through these interviews, we sought to gain insight into patients’ experiences when searching for provider information before seeking care, and their views on the most valuable cost and quality information for decision-making regarding the use of specific services and procedures.