Themes | Subthemes |
---|---|
1. The financial barriers that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare | Coverage of the (additional) health insurance plan |
Amount of the cost-sharing or direct payment (in the case of a non-covered healthcare service) | |
2. The structural barriers related to the complex design of cost-sharing programs that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare | Being unsure whether the healthcare service is covered by the basic health insurance package due to its complex design |
Being unsure whether cost-sharing payments are required and unable to determine the amount of any required payments in advance due to the complexity of the billing process | |
3. The individual considerations of the patient that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare | Perceived medical necessity of healthcare |
Coping with their changed level of self-reliance due to a (chronic) condition | |
Previous experiences with the physician, the healthcare service and the health insurer | |
Fear of the consequences of the use of healthcare | |
Travel time and parking availabilities | |
4. The perceived lack of control regarding treatment choices within a given treatment trajectory that affected the patient’s decision whether to use healthcare | Perceived compulsory use of health care as part of a treatment trajectory once the trajectory has started |