Health
Care Innovation Forum : Consumers, the Unseen Revolution
Consumerism
is becoming – finally – more and more a driver of change.
Stephen
Schimpff, MD, professor of medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center and
author of The Future of Health Care
Delivery (2012)
There’s a revolution going on out there. It’s
largely unseen because we focus more on government
health care policies, Obamacare,
physicians, hospitals, and insurance companies.
But it’s real and likely to shape the future.
The revolution has three elements:
·
The rise of the social media - blogs, Fcebook, You Tube, Twitter, Google, Linkedin – and consumers making their
voices and choices made through these media.
·
Health savings accounts linked to high
deductible plans, which are now being offered by 30% or more of large
employers snd are now owned by more than 15 million Americans.
·
Self-insured health plans offered by
large employers, and more and more by small employers, which are exempt from
many Obamacare provisions and allow
workers the right to choose how much coverage they want and to reject
government plans and to select less expensive plans and keep the savings.
The Power of Health Care Consumers
If you don’t believe in the power of
consumers, look at 401Ks, which were
introduced in 1978 and are now owned by 50 million Americans. Health are consumerism is about the power of personal
ownership, personal choice, and personal
knowledge.The Power of Health Care Consumers
Here's how Doctor Schimpff explains what's transpiring in consumer-land:
Patients
are coming to want and expect to be treated like a valued customer. What do the patients want? They want service –
good service. The increasingly
understand that quality and safety are not ideal so they are looking for and expecting
high levels of safety and quality.
Perhaps most of all is respect, respect for their person, confidentiality,
and the quality of their care. But also patients want convenience and responsiveness.
They don’t want to travel long
distances, wait long times in the “waiting room,” nor be put on indefinite telephone
hold. They want interaction by email and
other electronic methods. And finally,
patients increasingly expect to close the information gap – they expect the
playing field between patient and doctor to more level in the future.
Tweet: Health consumers are driving change – through
the Net, health savings
accounts, self-insured plans - and they expect
respect and service.
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