The Economics of Healthcare (eDoc)

At some stage in life, each one of us is a healthcare consumer, whether directly or indirectly. Every healthcare consumer has a different story about how he or she was first thrust into the healthcare consumer maze.

You may find yourself in unfamiliar territory when buying treatment for a healthcare problem, yours or a family member’s. No one prepares you for this role. And, while you may not need much preparation to buy a fast-food meal or your first car, healthcare is different. Buying healthcare is different from buying anything else for several reasons, including: information, unpredictability, payment, emotion, and responsibility. You can use this book to help you understand why healthcare is different as well as what you can do to improve your actions as a healthcare consumer.

Organization of this eDoc
This eDoc is organized into seven distinct sections with the use of several stories to help illustrate many of the points about healthcare consumerism. Then, I address in detail each of the concepts that makes healthcare different from everything else we buy. These concepts are: information, unpredictability, payment, emotion, and responsibility. For each, I describe why they are different in healthcare than in any other area of our lives. I give examples and tell stories wherever possible to help apply the concepts to reality. Then, I offer suggestions. In most cases, these are specific actions you can take to improve your own reactions to these concepts as a healthcare consumer. Finally, I end with a description of how quality is rated in healthcare and list of tools that you can use for this purpose.

Product Details:

Page Count: 31
Format: Adobe PDF file
Delivery: Digital Download
Author: Dr. Ruthann Russo

$8.95