The world of medicine is changing at a fast pace, and one of the most prominent trends among patients today is that they are taking a more active and dynamic part in maintaining their health. In recent years, many patients around the world have begun to choose their medical service to maximize their benefit from the service reduce risks, maintain health, and minimize expenses on health services.
The concept of “medical consumerism” basically describes the view of the patient as a customer, that is, a consumer.
Patients receive medical services from various professionals such as doctors, nurses, psychologists, therapists, dieticians, etc., and health services are provided by various organizations such as health funds, public and private hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics.
When the patient understands that he is a consumer with respect to all matters, he can choose the service providers that suit him best. However, most patients are smart and efficient consumers in matters related to their cars and electrical products for their homes, but in everything concerning their health and bodies, they behave poorly, and in practice, they usually only visit a doctor at their HMO or a hospital when they are writhing in pain and unable to function. It is known that many patientss ignore the recommendations of doctors and the health system. Therefore they do not go for the periodic screening tests to detect diseases at an early stage, even if they are entitled to have the test free of charge or for a nominal fee.
When the disease worsens and requires professional and high-quality medical treatment, a lot of patientis don’t think twice and are willing to pay a huge sum to a private specialist, even though they can receive excellent and similar medical services from their doctor at the HMO.
Meanwhile, many look up information about diseases, medicines and medical devices through search engines – usually Google – and quite a few consumers overload the system, claiming that “Dr. Google” said such and such. Therefore, in the field of medical consumerism, the source of the information must be considered, and professional and accessible information must be given to patients.
What fields are included in the scope of medical consumerism?
In general, the concept of medical consumerism deals with issues such as:
- Personally choosing a physician or therapist, in order to receive a more personal service and to obtain the maximum from the treatment or medical consultation.
- The rights of sick patients and those being treated in the health service, with an emphasis on the hospitals and health funds (HMOs).
- Treatments included in the national health basket, and solutions for financing treatments that are not included within it.
- Correct choice of complementary health insurance from an HMO or an insurance company.
- Screening tests recommended according to age, including financing of the test by the HMO or other means of insurance.
- Issues related to medical negligence.
- Correct handling of the patient with a problematic or defective medical service.
- Correct combination of different drugs, including nutritional supplements and drugs for chronic diseases.
- Up-to-date medical information.
- Medical devices for the home, including wearable medical devices.
- Participation in clinical trials.
- Home treatment.
- Advanced solution for remote medical service
- Advanced applications and software for medical services.
Personalization of the medical service
When the patient realizes that he is essentially a consumer of the medical services, he demands personal treatment and is interested in receiving a quality service customized to his needs. In recent years, many patients have begun to understand that they must take a distinct and more active consumer approach in order to maximize the health services they receive, whether as part of health insurance paid to the National Insurance Institute or as part of supplementary insurance, private health insurance or insurance that is entirely private.
The effect of medical consumerism on the world of medicine
The field of medical consumerism has been on the rise in the last decade, and the health system invests considerable resources to optimize the medical services provided to those insured.
The innovative technologies help patients to choose correctly who gives them medical services, to compare prices at the click of a button, to browse information about treatments, medicines, and medical devices, and it is even possible to purchase products and devices for medical treatment at home via websites online.
The world of medicine is changing rapidly due to the influence of medical consumerism and the more active attitude of patients. Therefore, the health system is working to offer a better and more accessible service; the pharmaceutical, medical, and medical device companies are changing their goals in order to provide higher quality and more advanced solutions to medical consumers, with the top priority being to put the customer first.
ezMedSoft develops quality programming systems with up-to-date technology in the fields of optics/ health, and medicine/ home care and assisted living, according to the needs of its customers by their fields of specialism and operational processes.