Consumer involvement in health care refers to the tackles and actions taken by patients to ensure informed decision-making, thereby improving health outcomes. Informed choice is the primary role of consumers in improving health care. Increasingly, consumers engage in health information seeking; this has been made easier by the invention and rise of technology (Internet). Evolution in patient involvement is bound to shape the future of healthcare. Improving consumer roles in health care systems is among the best ways of improving health care quality while keeping costs low.
There are two key ways in which consumer engagement can be implemented in the health care system; they include taking either an evaluator role or a co-producer role (Hibbard 2003). Taking the evaluator role entails an evaluation of the care received by a patient/consumer whereas the co-producer role involves actively participating in their care, and in the production of health care programs. Under the proactive involvement, consumers are given information about a diagnosis, they are asked about their treatment plan preferences, and a well-driven decision is made from their responses and medical judgment. Still, on proactive involvement, consumers can participate in policy making by taking part in focus groups and voicing their opinions about healthcare issues and programs. Their recommendations can then be used by agencies when making funding decisions and allocating resources to healthcare programs.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The evaluator aspect of consumer involvement can be applied in organizational design and governance. Here, the users can fill in surveys about their healthcare experiences. This way the patients can voice their opinions about the systems that work and those that do not. Also, hospitals can include patients in the team as advisers.
The culture of consumer involvement in their healthcare is without a doubt one of the most significant evolutions in the healthcare system. A deeper study of the best practices of health care engagement is therefore highly recommendable. By clearly demonstrating the connection between consumer engagement and cost savings, and better health outcomes, more patients will be convinced to adopt the culture.
Bibliography
Hibbard, J. H. (2003). Engaging health care consumers to improve the quality of care. Medical care , 41 (1), I-61.
