Healthcare Consumerism and Its Impact on Rural Health

摘要

As consumer expectations rise in matters related to cost, quality, and access, technology is certain to play a key continuing role in the future of healthcare, particularly for rural and other smaller providers. Pat Mastors,founder of Patients' View Partners, summarizes it well when she states, "You're looking at a culture change that's coming about, whether it's this year or five years or 10 years [from now]. The industry has to see this coming. The salvation of the industry-the ones that will survive after this culture-change tsunami has gone by-are the ones that understand their customers".