Mystery shoppers are individuals hired to pose as a typical consumer to provide reports of services provided, along with consumer experiences and reactions.1'2 While historically this technique has been used in retail services, it has recently been applied as an assessment tool in healthcare facilities.1'3 In the medical field, mystery shoppers are often referred to as "pseudo-patients" or "simulated patients" as they present to various healthcare settings posing as a patient with a fictional condition or with medical questions.This study aims to describe the utility of a mystery shopper approach for assessing the ease of, and time needed for a child to get a routine appointment with a child psychiatrist. First, we consider whether the methodology can be conducted effectively and efficiently-that is, with limited research staff, without being detected, and without imposing a significant administrative burden on participating psychiatry offices. Second, we assess whether the mystery shopper approach can generate useful data for measuring access to care.
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