The key factors influencing clients' decision-making in the market of selected planned healthcare in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Considering the system, the economics and competitive attitudes in the healthcare market, we can certainly apply standard market tools that are usable in any competitive environment, however, with some limitations. The legal framework for the competitive healthcare services in the Czech Republic has been brought about by the privatization of the healthcare sector and private health care in accordance with Act No. 160/1992 Coll., which enabled the establishment of private health facilities. The law has also permitted clients to choose their specific healthcare establishment and their physician. On the other hand, it is also necessary to respect market specifics. A differentiated structure of health organizations is one of the main differences. Some health care organizations work as business entities and others are not-for-profit organizations whose primary objective is not profit. The type of healthcare utilized is the second difference in this environment. We can distinguish two types of healthcare: (1) acute or emergency and necessary healthcare and (2) planned healthcare. In an acute situation, involving emergency and necessary care, a client often does not take advantage of the opportunity to choose his/ her healthcare provider, either due to pain or the need to solve the medical problem quickly. Regarding the planned care, a client has more time and options for choosing. Providers of planned healthcare services constitute part of a competitive environment and their task is to understand their clients' preferences and to customize their portfolio of healthcare services to meet those clients' specific needs. The purpose of the present article is to define the most important factors that influence the decision-making process of clients in the market of selected healthcare services (e.g. eye defects corrections, eyelid aesthetic treatment, orthopedic procedures, selected surgical procedures, planned childbirth and gynecological operations) and to identify the role and the importance of those factors in regard to the decision-making process. A partial aim is to find out whether there are differences in regard to the perception of the key factors that influence decision-making between men and women or between potential and real clients. The result of the research involves the evaluation of 786 questionnaires from clients or potential clients of healthcare services. They were evaluated using the Two-sample t-Test for equal means.