Grounds for Discrimination: Establishing Criteria for Evaluating Health Services

The creation of a competitive market for primary healthcare within the NHS has implications for both patients and General Practitioners. The purpose of this article is to investigate the criteria that patients will use to discriminate between alternative healthcare offerings. In order to do this the research examines the way in which patients evaluate their present healthcare provision as a basis for understanding future expectations. The results demonstrate six strategies for healthcare evaluation and three distinct groups of patients likely to adopt particular strategies.