Consumer Empowerment in Health Care Amid the Internet and Social Media
Section snippets
Consumer Empowerment in Health
Why have patients become consumers? When did consumer activism and consumer empowerment gain traction in health care? Consumer empowerment in health care parallels broader trends of consumer empowerment in society. Over the past 50 years the consumer movement has evolved from the protection of consumers to advocacy of the idea that informed consumers should not be the “targets” of marketers, but should help to shape markets with a strong and coordinated voice. The global consumer movement
New ICTs
The IBM PC was introduced 30 years ago, in 1981, and the intervening three decades have seen significant changes in every aspect of ICTs. The PC was a significant breakthrough in moving basic information management tools, such as computerized document creation and management, from the Information Technology department ro the desktop, and then from the work environment into the home. Personal information could be managed with reasonably polished tools and in a personally controlled environment,
Integration of ICT into Health Care
ICTs have made their way broadly into the practice of health care, in many ways that are institution- and provider-centered. Several articles in this journal issue describe cancer-specific interventions. Patient monitoring equipment, medication management systems, messaging and voice communication systems, electronic medical records (EMR), and administrative systems all have had impact on the practice of nurses and other providers. ICTs have also been used to develop patient-centered
New Models for Patient Interaction
It is evident that the information available to patients, and the way they interact with that information, with their providers, and with each other, has changed dramatically since digital communication has become commonplace. The extent of that change has been so dramatic that it makes sense to separate the “traditional” patient-centered uses of the Internet from the emergence of social media and the technology-enabled patient.
Conclusion
Health care is at the point where new paradigms are evident to patients and their families, to health care providers and delivery organizations, and to the government and foundations that shape the system. While consumer empowerment and changing technologies have been presented as exciting, and inevitable, there remains skepticism about the feasibility, value, and future of new technologies, especially in the elderly. In 2006, Lober et al94 explored barriers to the use of a PHR by an elderly
William B. Lober, MD: Associate Professor, Schools of Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
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William B. Lober, MD: Associate Professor, Schools of Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Janine L. Flowers, BS: Program Manager, Clinical Informatics Research Group, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.