Consumerism - The Customer is Always Right? The Patient’s Role in Health Care and Health Policy

Harvard HSPH

Consumerism in health care, where patients consider both quality and price when making health care purchasing decisions, has long been proffered as a pathway to greater value in the US health care system. Yet some argue that viewing patients as consumers in the health care system is harmful, leading to inefficient resource use, placing burden on patients, and delivery of lower quality care. Does consumerism achieve its desired outcomes? Can consumer-focused policy interventions inside…