Patient priorities: Research into patient confidence and choice (19 July 2024)

Summary

This research by the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) aimed to find out about patients’ priorities when making decisions about private healthcare. PHIN engaged directly with patients who have used, or would consider using, private treatment through an online survey and in-depth qualitative focus groups.

Content

The report revealed the following key findings:

• Not all patients have a ‘consumer mindset’ when navigating private healthcare. The report includes guidance to help both patients and the sector ensure that there is better communication, understanding and use of the choices that are distinctive to private healthcare.
• Patients’ private journeys are diverse because of their priorities and circumstances. So too their appetites for information, which can depend on their physical or emotional state, confidence in handling such information and previous experience in the private sector. 
• Participants told us there’s a lack of clarity and completeness in how private healthcare costs are represented, particularly the full set of in-hospital fees, as well as financing options. This prevents patients from making an informed choice and managing trade-offs. This was especially true for self-pay patients who felt that costs often seemed opaque, if not misleading.
• Patients told us that consultants should invest in their ‘shop windows,’ including participation in legally-mandated processes like PHIN and provide information that adds a human touch to their clinical information.
• The focus group participants liked PHIN’s website, neutrality and centrality in the sector, and felt it needed greater promotion; the majority had never heard of it before. However, many thought it would benefit from better navigation and search function, and greater use of everyday health terms.
• Many patients (71% in our research) are going private not because they want to, but because they feel they have to, especially in the context of much longer waiting-lists and their impact; they also ‘mix and match’ between NHS and private treatments.
• Patients consult multiple sources of information before making their healthcare choices, with 51% citing the significantly persuasive value of a recommendation from a friend, family member or colleague.
• Patients would value a ‘map of private healthcare,’ with key decision points highlighted. 30% of people surveyed overall were not confident about using private healthcare, and 19% of those who’d had prior treatment in the past three years were still not confident about navigating through it. The lack of knowledge creates anxiety and, for some, the sense that people with better access to information or understanding of the process can obtain faster or better outcomes.
• Location is the key factor when choosing a hospital (58%).
• When researching private healthcare, top topics are hospitals (54%) and procedures (52%).
• A significant majority (84%) of patients said they hadn’t considered treatment abroad. In our focus groups, many spoke of their concern if something went wrong in a foreign context without comparable standards and support that patients might find in the UK.