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Caveat emptor or blissful ignorance? Patients and the consumerist ethos

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  • Lupton, Deborah
  • Donaldson, Cam
  • Lloyd, Peter

Abstract

The notion that consumerist behaviour is, or should be, prevalent amongst individuals seeking health care has underlain recent United States and British governmental policy directives. Consumer groups make similar assumptions when exhorting individuals to treat health care like any other service. This paper enquires to what extent patients conceive of themselves and others as adopting consumerist behaviour when seeking and evaluating primary health care. Three hundred and thirty-three patients attending general practices in Sydney, Australia, were asked in open-ended questions to state why they chose their regular doctor, why they continued to visit that doctor, if they had ever changed their doctor, if they thought most people could tell if a doctor were good or bad, and what qualities they thought constituted a good and bad doctor. It is concluded that the patients surveyed tended not think of themselves as consumers who should be wary of the quality of service offered by doctors. Rather they preferred to trust their doctor, and therefore did not devote effort to actively seeking out information about their doctor or evaluating his or her services.

Suggested Citation

  • Lupton, Deborah & Donaldson, Cam & Lloyd, Peter, 1991. "Caveat emptor or blissful ignorance? Patients and the consumerist ethos," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 559-568, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:33:y:1991:i:5:p:559-568
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    Cited by:

    1. Will, Catherine M. & Weiner, Kate, 2015. "The drugs don't sell: DIY heart health and the over-the-counter statin experience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 280-288.
    2. J R Barnett & R A Kearns, 1996. "Shopping Around? Consumerism and the Use of Private Accident and Medical Clinics in Auckland, New Zealand," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 28(6), pages 1053-1075, June.
    3. Foster, Drew, 2016. "‘Keep complaining til someone listens’: Exchanges of tacit healthcare knowledge in online illness communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 25-32.

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    Keywords

    Patients consumerism health care;

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