Introduction:

The study of health as an economic good indicates that the demand for health services is derived from the perceived need of a person seeking care for prevention or cure. To this end, providers of these services are required simultaneously. Analysis of the characteristics of different health service providers is useful to understand how they influence demand as well as how care can be improved. The objective of this study was to identify the characteristics of health service providers that affect the use of ambulatory care in Mexico.

Materials and methods:

A cross-sectional study was conducted using information from the 2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey (Ensanut), and a conditional logistic regression model was prepared, which included the characteristics of the providers. Scenarios were simulated to show changes in the probability of differentiated use, given that there were changes in the variables with the greatest impact on the model.

Results:

The variables incorporated in the model demonstrated an incidence in the choice of providers. Moreover, the price of the service had less impact compared with the findings of other studies, suggesting that public outpatient care resembles the characteristics of an inferior good.

Conclusion:

The characteristics of health service providers have impacts similar to those of some sociodemographic and economic variables documented in various studies.

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