Consumer selection of physicians and dentists: an examination of choice criteria and cue usage.

If health care marketers can understand the criteria consumers use to evaluate them and can identify which cues are used to assess those criteria, they will be better able to manage and influence the consumers' evaluations and perceptions of their service offering. In an exploratory study, the authors examine the criteria and cues used by consumers in selecting physicians and dentists. Competence and courtesy are found to be the most important criteria. Personal referral cues emerge as often determinant in the initial selection of physicians and dentists. The actual interactive nature of the service encounter, however, determines continued consumer patronage.