Comments on: “Patients” versus “Health Care Consumers”? Both, If You Ask Me

By: The Pew Internet/Health FAQ | e-Patients.net

The Pew Internet/Health FAQ | e-Patients.net — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:52:28 +0000

[...] vs. cyberchondriacs. Amy Tenderich of DiabetesMine had another good take on this topic: “Patients” versus “Health Care Consumers”? Both, If You Ask Me. We also unpacked a Microsoft study of “cyberchondria” (be sure to read the comments on [...]

By: Kevin Kruse at e-Patient Connections

Kevin Kruse at e-Patient Connections — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:55:23 +0000

I’m late to this post but Susannah Fox sent me over and I’m glad she did. I, too, was curious about the definition and use of the terms e-patient versus empowered patient and health consumer and ran some simple Google counts on them. Also, according to survey research out there I’ve seen, like it or not, we ARE acting as health consumers; healthcare IS a consumer marketplace. Maybe we don’t need to call “us” that, but it is the reality. For now, I’m sticking with the term e-patient and hope others adopt it more widely. My article, “What do you mean, e-patient?” is here:
http://blog.kruresearch.com/2009/05/what-do-you-mean-e-patient/

By: The Hard Sell | Diario BV

The Hard Sell | Diario BV — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:16:03 +0000

[...] Tenderich (@ Diabetes Mine) recently wrote a thoughtful post about the difference between referring to people as “consumers” or [...]

By: healthcare management - блог про управління в охороні здоров’я » Пацієнт? Клієнт? Споживач? Вживач?

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:05:00 +0000

[...] на Kevin M.D. продовжує дискусію, розпочату на блозі DiabetesMine. Усе крутиться, по суті, навколо двох фраз. Перша: [...]

By: Bill Peckham

Bill Peckham — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:31:50 +0000

Patient or Customer? Neither.
Patient describes a business relationship too: I am only a patient when someone is getting paid. And the word patient carries baggage that comes from its meaning in regard to acute medicine; this acute baggage is inappropriate when referring to someone dealing with a chronic condition.

We can do better than modeling ourselves after the players in a business transaction or the passive language of acute medicine. Living with a chronic disease takes far more effort than establishing a handful of business arrangements or just being informed of what the doctor thinks is best. We should look to the business language of partnership or affiliation rather than the language of the business transaction.

By: Aggravated DocSurg

Aggravated DocSurg — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:30:13 +0000

I’m pretty sure that I graduated from medical school, not “provider school.” I am a physician, and my job entails interacting with and caring for entities that are called patients. While this is indeed a business (going over budgets, employee evaluations, insurance contracts and the like at night after being on call drives that point home), it is a very different type of business than Home Depot. I think it is a disservice to call patients consumers, and I believe that is a very demeaning and condescending term. While a person indeed will often see themselves as a consumer — for example, when deciding which hospital to use or which physician to see — once the doctor-patient relationship is formed, they should be seen only as a patient.

By: jeremiah

jeremiah — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:57:28 +0000

forget about these words e-patient, or health consumer, or everything else everyone has been screaming how about this word: universial, as in universal healthcare where a government shows that it cares about the well being of it’s people instead of the current bankrupting of the american public. why should only a select few get to have the privilage of insurance when there are those as my self who can afford the best care but cannot even get a whiff of insurance in case something else non diabetes related where to happen to myself. as it stands right now i myself pay just for insulin, strips, and omnipods, looking out for the best deals and i am still paying over $20,000 dollars a year just for basic survival that is what is criminal

By: Should patients be treated as customers, and if so, are they always right? | Telecom News

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 05:08:20 +0000

[...] diabetes blogger Amy Tenderich writes that being a consumer implies being a customer, as in, “the customer is always right.” But how realistic is that? When a patient [...]

By: David Collin

David Collin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:48:23 +0000

Semantics tends to show us where we have been. “Consumers” fits with the overall consumerist nature of our culture–now being challenged by the over-extension that contributes to our economic woes. “Patient” reflects the health culture in which the issue of health comes up mainly after we’re sick.

But what about a word that encompasses people who are health conscious and pro-active in preventing illness and staying well? I like Susannah’s term “activist.” At least it makes room for people who are actively living to prevent illness.

I think one of the big challenges of the “e-patient” movement is to turn the thrust of its practices into a prevention, wellness-oriented movement. Online information and support Would be powerful there too, but it needs to come before we become either “patients” or “consumers.”

By: Jorge de la Rosa

Jorge de la Rosa — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 03:55:59 +0000

I just read your post and I liked it. As you know, we “customers” are very sensitized about the role of the pharmaceutical business circus. Out there is a cold, commercial world, a show run by the pharmacy trusts. I believe the best role the internet is playing is the one regarding information. There is no reason why anyone should be misinformed nowadays, and misinformation with the intent of profit is cruel and unjust. And intentional misinformation, like hiding part of the facts, is the weapon that this group wields to engross their bank accounts. There’s just that part of society- the poor, the naive, and the elderly- on whom they always prey. Let’s do our part in countering misinformation!