OBJECTIVES: Integrated Care (IC) aims to optimize the processes of healthcare delivery Until now IC programs are not implemented all-encompassing. This could be due for example to the lack of awareness of IC programs, lack of acceptance or the missing incentives as well as the lack of consideration of patient or insuree preferences. The study analyzes the relationships between different communicators (GP/health insurance/state) of IC programs and information recipients (patient/insurant/public). Specifically, if the communicator of an integrated care program has an impact on the hypothetical choice of the respondents. METHODS: The study used a generic and labeled Discrete-Choice Experiment (DCE). In addition, a control group was enclosed in the empirical study in which the communicator was not included within the decision model. All DCEs used an identical decision model with the six characteristics.  Bayesian designs (NGene) were used including 9 or 12 choicesets. RESULTS: N=1632 participants (53.8% female, mean age 45.9 years) took part in the representative survey. The conditional-logit and random-parameter estimation showed that the communicator had significant impact in both DCEs. The most important attributes (considering CI 95%) were "medical devices and furnishing", the "communicator" and the "travel time". The second most preferred items were "additional costs" and the "experience of care provider." The "waiting time for an appointment" and the "exchange of clinical information" are the least considered attributes. The physician thereby increased the probability of the selection of an IC-program. CONCLUSIONS: The DCEs could show that apart from the relevant properties of an IC-program the communicators also have a significant impact on the hypothetical choices of respondents. This is the first study so far, which demonstrates this effect. The results obtained can be used in the context of health services research, to check the direction of the communication and information strategy for integrated care and possibly realignment.