Issue Briefs
Back to all Issue BriefsSeptember 27, 2011Healthcare Consumerism and the Growing Importance of Patient Decision Making
The growing movement of healthcare consumerism is essentially an answer to the call for greater patient involvement in the healthcare system. The overriding concept behind this movement is nothing new. Healthcare economists have long argued that patients themselves are the key to lowering the cost and improving the quality of healthcare in the United States. Healthcare consumerism, which relies on patient preferences to regulate the healthcare market and patient engagement to inform these preferences, can influence what healthcare services patients select, which providers they use and even which insurance plans they purchase. This issue brief takes a look at this growing trend, how elements of consumerism are being promoted in public policy today and some of the challenges that the movement must address.