By Dr. Christine Gall, Head of Healthcare Marketing, T-Mobile for Business
The concept of healthcare consumerism driving patient choice regarding how, when and where they access care has been trending for a while.
In a 2018 study¹, Vivian Ho, Director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Anaeze Offodile, a physician at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, wrote, "We live in a world where an individual's discretionary choices (food, clothing and travel) are increasingly driven by convenience and amenability to control—for example, online shopping—and the prevalence of mobile apps."
The researchers advised that consumerism in healthcare is a permanent part of the healthcare landscape because healthcare customers want the same kind of access, convenience, and service they are accustomed to in other areas of life. Or, as a recent report from RevSpring², describes it, "efficient, personalized, and seamless" care.