Healthcare consumerism is a newly emerging trend in the modern healthcare system of the United States. It is stated that there are several definitions of the term, but the most valid one is based on providing autonomy for individuals (Latimer, Roscamp, & Papanikitas, 2017). In other words, it is a process of advocating for the interests and rights of consumers (Latimer et al., 2017). The main goal is to allow patients to have the freedom and liberty to make their own healthcare decision. The key driver of the given notion is the fact that public officials and the masses seeking to have an individualized healthcare plan. Instead of purchasing standard packages, some want to have autonomy in what they wish to acquire, which means that a patient becomes a consumer of healthcare products and services.
The factor that might affect healthcare consumerism in the next five years is patient-centered care and the overall relationship between doctors and clients. One should be aware that giving such freedom to patients will inevitably undermine the authority and power of healthcare specialists (Latimer et al., 2017). The main reason is that a consumer’s choices might not go by a doctor’s recommendations or other statements. It is stated that the degree of sincerity of patient-centered care is more plausible than the honesty of consumerism (Latimer et al., 2017). In other words, political factors can have a great deal of impact on the realization of the notion. Public officials can easily abuse the concept to represent the interests of large healthcare organizations, where they will be able to charge more than now. Therefore, this newly emerging trend needs to be strictly controlled because it is important to make healthcare consumerism beneficial for regular people.
Reference
Latimer, T., Roscamp, J., & Papanikitas, A. (2017). Patient-centredness and consumerism in healthcare: An ideological mess. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 110(11), 425-427. Web.