Book Description
Doctors have long been regarded as figures of power by their patients. The doctor, who possesses mysterious and specialized skills, is in a position of authority over the patient -- an authority which is legitimized by the state through its restrictions on who can practise medicine. This book charts the rise of the consumerist movement in medicine. The movement is a challenge to the traditional doctor-patient role in that it questions the authority of the doctor to dispense cures and the duty of patients to accept those cures without question. The consumerist movement sees that there is a bargain being struck between patient and doctor, and that it is the right of the patient as buyer to question the claims of the doctor as seller. The authors attempt to gauge the size and strength of this movement through a national survey of health care consumers and of physicians. The causes and manifestations of the consumerist movement are reviewed, as are the reactions of doctors to it and its effect on the overall utilization of health care facilities. The book will be of immense value to those interested in changes in health care, and to professionals and administrators in health care services.
