How do patients select their sports medicine orthopedist? Cross sectional study

Objective: To explore factors that influence patient selection of a sports medicine orthopedist. Study setting: A self-completion questionnaires were filled out by the patients independently at the entrance to the orthopedic clinic where they waited for their turn. Study design: Cross sectional survey. Data collection: Three hundred-and-eight patients that consulted a sports medicine orthopedist in the past year, whether in a private or a public sector, completed a questionnaire designed for the purposes of the present study. Principal findings: Patient selection of a sports medicine orthopedist was primarily influenced by an orthopedist's professional skills and recommendations from friends, family members, and other patients, while patients seemed to be less concerned about an orthopedist's interpersonal skills, and less influenced by other physicians' recommendations or advertisements. Variance has been observed in attribution of importance to certain factors across patient groups. Conclusions: These findings may be used in designing of marketing strategies aimed to assist patient selection of a sports medicine orthopedist. Marketing strategies need to be tailored to specific patient groups for example athletes.