Discussions surrounding patient engagement and empowerment often use the terms "patient" and "consumer" interchangeably. But do the two terms hold the same meaning, or is a "patient" a passive actor in the health care arena and a "consumer" an informed, rational decision-maker? Has there been a shift in our usage of the two terms that aligns with the increasing commercialization of health care in the U.S. or has the patient/consumer dynamic always been a part of the buying and selling of health care in the American system? Recent discussions of the issue exist in the popular press and in social media forums such as TEDMED, but few direct analyses of the ethical, legal, and policy ramifications of this possible shift in terminology are available in the academic literature. This paper analyzes our usage of the terms and any recent changes in the dynamic and discusses the ethical, legal, and policy implications of this simple terminology for the physicianpatient relationship.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jlme.12203DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

health care
12
usage terms
8
ethical legal
8
legal policy
8
patient consumer
4
consumer empowerment
4
empowerment commodification?
4
commodification? currents
4
currents contemporary
4
contemporary bioethics
4

Similar Publications

Distribution of opioid analgesics by community racial/ethnic and socioeconomic profiles, 2011-2021.

Pain

January 2025

Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States.

Rapid declines in opioid analgesics dispensed in American communities since 2011 raise concerns about inadequate access to effective pain management among patients for whom opioid therapies are appropriate, especially for those living in racial/ethnic minority and socioeconomically deprived communities. Using 2011 to 2021 national data from the Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System and generalized linear models, this study examined quarterly per capita distribution of oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine (in oral morphine milligram equivalents [MMEs]) by communities' racial/ethnic and socioeconomic profiles. Communities (defined by 3-digit-zip codes areas) were classified as "majority White" (≥50% self-reported non-Hispanic White population) vs "majority non-White.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Schizophrenia and retention in HIV care among adults insured through Medicaid in the United States: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr

January 2025

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California-San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco, California 675 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107.

Background: People with schizophrenia spectrum disorders are at elevated risk of HIV, and people with both HIV and schizophrenia are at elevated risk of death compared to individuals with either diagnosis alone. Limited research has assessed the HIV care cascade, and in particular retention in care, among people with HIV (PWH) and schizophrenia in the U.S.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Patient portals, or secure websites linked to electronic medical records, have emerged as tools to provide patients with timely access to their health information. To support the potential benefits of patient portals such as improved engagement in health care, it is essential to understand how patients and caregivers experience these portals.

Objective: This study aimed to explore patient and caregiver experiences, facilitators, and barriers to accessing and using a patient portal called MyChart during the initial stages of its implementation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) is an important threshold to consider when evaluating the meaningfulness of improvement following an intervention. The JoyPop app is an evidence-based smartphone app designed to improve resilience and emotion regulation. Information is needed regarding the JoyPop app's MCID among culturally diverse youth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Efficient emergency patient transport systems, which are crucial for delivering timely medical care to individuals in critical situations, face certain challenges. To address this, CONNECT-AI (CONnected Network for EMS Comprehensive Technical-Support using Artificial Intelligence), a novel digital platform, was introduced. This artificial intelligence (AI)-based network provides comprehensive technical support for the real-time sharing of medical information at the prehospital stage.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!