Returning to the Doctor: The Effect of Client Characteristics, Type of Practice, and Experiences with Care

Although a number of policy-makers have suggested that previous experiences with medical care affect subsequent use of physician services, few researchers have examined the issue empirically. Authors divide the determinants of revisiting the doctor in pediatric practice into three categories: client characteristics, organizational characteristics, and characteristics of the doctor-client interaction; and we develop a causal model. Although race, income, and education have no direct effects on the frequency of returning to the doctor, they have indirect effects through the organization of health care and experiences within the health care system. Clients who are poorly educated tend to have consistently negative experiences with the health care delivery system. These experiences affect subsequent use of services. Positive experiences with the interpersonal, psychosocial aspects of the doctor-client interaction increase a client's proclivity to return to the doctor, while negative doctor-client interactions decrease the probability of returning to the doctor.

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