Part 1: Healthcare Consumers Discuss ways in which healthcare consumers are diff
ID: 455626 • Letter: P
Question
Part 1: Healthcare Consumers Discuss ways in which healthcare consumers are different from consumers of other goods and services. Part 2: Redefinition of the Patient As healthcare has evolved so has the concept of a patient or consumer of healthcare. Technology and culture are among the many variables that have affected our concept of a healthcare patient. Consider these items among the others noted in your text: What has most influenced the way you view yourself as a consumer of healthcare? What factors led to the redefinition of the patient as a consumer in the late twentieth century?
Explanation / Answer
What has most influenced the way you view yourself as a consumer of healthcare?
Learning though experiences other family member or friends have had is what influences me as consumer of healthcare. Having knowledge of the different health insurance policies around and the hiccups that some have found with them, helps learn without having to go through the hassle first hand.
What factors led to the redefinition of the patient as a consumer in the late twentieth century?
Third party payers, costs and increase in medical technology are some factors that have led to their definition of the patient as a consumer. In decades before, patients paid the physician or physicians directly. There was no “middle man”, now, there are insurance programs and government programs. “At the beginning of the 20thcentury, health insurance was virtually nonexistent in the United States” .
Costs have increase due to the newer technology that is constantly changing and becoming more and more intelligent. Balancing quality of care with cost effectiveness is a constant effort in managed.