Background: Patient seeking care behaviors are affected by many factors including socio-cultural and financial affaires, therapeutic costs, etc. This study was conducted to investigate patient seeking care behavior in Kashan, in 2004.

Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive study in which a random sample of 414 individuals was selected from people attending public outpatient health clinics. Multi stage sampling was used to select the subjects. For data collection a trained expert health worker interviewed the subjects individually in the health centre waiting room. Identity variables and study specific objectives (contact with GP or health clinics as optimistic behavior and direct contact with specialty or subspecialty as non relevance behavior) were assessed. Then the data were analyzed using Chi-square statistical test.

Results: Of participants, 49.3% were men and 51.7% were women. Rate of having a visit to a physician in four recent weeks were X= 0.96 ± 1.29 in women and X= 0.49 ±0.93 in men. Seeking care optimistic behavior were 21% and 15.7% respectively. There was a significant association between the sex and physician seeking care behavior (X 2 =18, P=0.5). Of subjects   83.3% were covered by a health insurance plan and 16.6% were not covered by any insurance plan. Overall patient optimistic behavior in insured and uninsured subjects were 19.1% and 14.5% respectively.

Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated the high degree of difference in patient seeking care behavior rates according to the healthcare delivery system structure (insurance type and care givers), patient characteristics and many influencing variables. We recommend findings of this study for reorganization of healthcare delivery systems. The findings may be regarded as preliminary to further research into this area of health system structure.