Consumers, information, and the evolving healthcare market place: introduction to the special section

摘要

Healthcare in the USA is a vast and sprawling enterprise, accounting for nearly one dollar in six (16%) of national income in 2004 (CMS, 2006). At the heart of this enterprise is the delivery of medical services to individual patients. As healthcare consumers, patients have always played a role in shopping for care. The nature of this role has, however, gone through significant changes as the organization of the US system has evolved over time. A key ongoing policy question has been how much authority to delegate to patients in their capacity as healthcare consumers over choices about treatments and providers and the management of their care.