Objective: This study tests whether a personal narrative can persuade people to value comparative data on physician quality. Method: We conducted an online experiment with 850 adults. One group viewed a cartoon narrative on physician quality variation, another saw text on physician quality variation, and there was a control group. Study participants hypothetically selected a physician from a display of four physicians. The top-quality physician was furthest away and most expensive. We conducted multivariate models examining the relationship between experimental group and choice of the top-quality physician. Results: There was no overall relationship between narrative or text information and choice of the highest quality physician. Among higher numerate participants, however, those who viewed the narrative had odds 2.7 times higher of selecting the top-quality physician compared with the control group. Discussion: Personal narratives can persuade higher numerate people to consider quality when selecting physicians.
Keywords: consumer choice; personal narrative; physician quality.