Private physicians or walk-in clinics: do the patients differ?

The authors use a consumer-oriented framework to compare patients of private physicians with those of walk-in clinics in terms of factors that influence selection of health care providers. Data suggest few differences in the way the two types of providers are perceived by their patients. Instead, a fairly strong income effect suggests that segmentation strategies for health care delivery systems should be reevaluated. The results provide insights for applying strategic marketing concepts within health care delivery systems.