[Preferences of patients looking for a general practitioner or hospital].

This paper deals with preferences of the search process of patients looking for new health providers. The analyses are based on the data from a survey in the southern province of Germany (Bavaria) conducted in 2006 and including 970 participants. It showed that private networks are mainly used in the search for general practitioners whereas crucial advice for finding a suitable hospital is usually taken from diagnosing specialists. Modern equipment is more important for hospitals than for general practitioners. Basic aspects of service quality (e.g., friendliness) are more important for patients insured in public health funds and looking for general practitioners than for patients insured in private health schemes. The possibilities provided by the internet should not be overrated. Only young patients use the world-wide web to look for hospitals, but even that portion is not remarkably high.