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Objectives To explore factors important to patients when choosing a secondary care provider.Methods A survey was distributed to 376 participants at Moorfields Eye Hospital comprising both free-text responses and Likert scale elements. Word frequency analysis was applied to free-text responses, and K-means analysis to identify clusters from Likert responses.Results Reputation, expertise, quality of care and clinical outcomes were the most important factors driving patient preference—more so than practicalities such as travel, ease of access, parking and proximity to healthcare provider. One of two identified clusters of patients appeared to place higher value on societal benefits (eg, sustainability, carbon footprint minimisation, cost-efficiency for National Health Service (NHS)) than the other.Discussion The current NHS approach of highlighting travel distance, wait times and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings when presenting choice is inadequate to support informed choice of provider. Further work in a more representative cohort and exploration of real-world patient decisions is warranted.