What kind of information is expected to be provided by medical information services?

Objective: The improvement of health-related information services is one major issue in reforming the German health care system to provide more transparency in health care services for patients and persons covered by the German statutory health insurance system. To meet the general need for specific medical information a telephone-based health information service may give individual advice and provide a helpful selection of information. The study aims at users expectations and preferences with regard to health information services. More particularly, users perception concerning the type of health information and the ways of choosing the information were to be explored. Method: The study included 160 participants of different ages. Prototypical medical advice conversations were presented to the participants consisting of/identifying the consumer's inquiry, followed by the expert's answering sequence. The answers were based on typical inquiries from medical information providers focussing on treatment methods and illnesses. Health information from these conversations with its special contents were ranked by preference judgements resulting in Thurstone scalings. Results: In terms of different health questions, the participants' judgements showed general preference structures for special health information, independent from any personal attitude towards medical information services. Great emphasis was placed on the medical conversation competence of the service provider, which is evident from recognising the specific needs and selection of information of a caller. Overall such health information was preferred that strengthened the patient's and user's autonomy and ability for decision making. Conclusion: Patients and persons covered by German statutory health insurance are characterised as users of information by special preferences. Identifying these preferences permits a reasonable selection of information and individual advice. Therefore, these services provide a major advantage over non-interactive health information services (print media, internet sites).