ObjectiveFor a long time in China, public hospitals have been the most prominent provider of healthcare. However, recent policy reforms mean the private sector is experiencing rapid development. Thus, the purpose of this study is to detect whether the policies published by the government aimed to improve the quality of healthcare services were catering to patient’s preferences.Participants and methodsOur work uses dental care as an example of services provided in outpatient setting and takes advantage of a labelled discrete choice experiment with a random sample of respondents from Beijing. Participants were asked to make a choice between four healthcare providers with different attributes. Mixed logit and latent class models were used for the analysis.ResultCare provided by high-level private hospitals and community hospitals were valued RMB154 and 216 less, respectively, than care provided by class A tertiary hospitals, while the most disliked provider was private clinics. This was the most valued attribute of dental care. Respondents also value: lower waiting times, the option to choose their doctor, lower treatment costs, shorter travel times and a clean waiting room. However, when the level of provider was analysed, the prevailing notion that patients in China were always likely to choose public services than private services no longer holds. Four classes of patients with distinct preferences for dental care provider choice were identified, which can partly be explained by age, income, experience and Hukou status—a household registration permit.DiscussionThe study to some extent challenged the overwhelming predominance of public healthcare providers in China. The preference heterogeneity we found was relatively large. Our findings are significant for providers in developing more specific services for patients and for policymakers in weighing the pros and cons of future initiatives in medical reform.

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With the progress of digital and mobile technologies, mobile short video apps (MSAs) have been booming in recent years. These MSAs are expanding their role in social commerce, which has aroused scholar’s and practitioners’ attention. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response model,this study proposes an integrated model to examine the impact of social factors (perceived expertise, similarity, and familiarity) and systemic factors (personalization, serendipity, and visual appeal) on the formation of utilitarian value and flow experience, and their subsequent effects on impulsive buying. The results suggest that both social factors and systemic factors can influence utilitarian value and flow experience. Further, utilitarian value and flow experience can positively affect consumers’ impulse buying independently. The contributions of the study to both academia and practice are discussed.

Summary Objective To examine the impact of policy incentives on patient's choice of health‐care providers for primary care and to capture the preferences for general practitioner (GP) care. Study design Discrete choice experiment. Methods A random sample of 704 adults and of 181 diabetics were independently surveyed to elicit patients' preferences for common disease diagnosis and diabetes care. Mixed logit regression was used for the analysis. Results On average, the most valued attribute in GP care are the organizational factors related to whether the provider has sufficient medicine and equipment to provide capable primary care service. Policy incentives, such as reducing waiting time, providing prior expert access, and increasing Medicare reimbursement, can facilitate the utilization of the GP system. Significant preference heterogeneity was identified; specifically, patient preferences significantly differ with regard to demand for common disease diagnosis and diabetes care. Conclusion The identification of the preferences of specific groups in regard to GP care is an organizational and political imperative. Policy incentives are useful tools to guide patients' health care seeking behavior. To change the perceptions of Chinese patients with regard to health care, policy makers should consider the heterogeneous responses of residents to policy incentives and focus their efforts on key cohorts.