Essay: 'Healthcare consumerism' is meant to give patients more information and choice in making medical decisions. But it can also downgrade the role of their doctors.
More accessible information and a retreat in doctors exercising sole authority has both empowered patients and left them feeling abandonedWhen Covid-19 vaccinations became available, Jackie , who suffers from allergies, wasn’t sure whether or not to get vaccinated. She asked her doctor. His answer was, “Do whatever you think is right.” Of course, your own preferences should guide your health choice.
Leaving the decision in her hands could be construed as treating her as a “healthcare consumer,” a term that has been growing exponentially on Google Scholar, the world’s academic research repository, as a new, more empowered term for “patient.” We’ve come a long way since 1847, when the ethical code of the American Medical Association stated, in the paternalistic manner of the time, “The obedience of a patient to the prescriptions of his physician should be prompt and implicit.
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