There is an irreversible trend for large healthcare companies to refer to patients as healthcare “consumers”.
There nothing wrong with being considered a consumer when getting gas, or shopping for an iPhone, or purchasing a book on Amazon.
These are impersonal transactions, and I for one don’t mind being treated as “one who consumes” during these business-person transactions. I like a focus on efficient service delivery, and I don’t particularly want to connect with anyone when I am filling my car with gas at the pump.
But let’s face it, there are few things more personal than being evaluated for a physical or mental concern.
Even seemingly straightforward issues—like acne, or a rash, or excess body weight—can require deeply personal conversations with their physician. And when we are having these conversations, do we want to be treated as a healthcare consumer—just consuming another service—or would we rather be treated as a human being?
The answer is obvious. We want to be treated as a person, not an economic unit, but unfortunately, the word transposition of consumer ⇆ patient is here to stay, and pragmatically we are going to have to accept it.
But accepting it doesn’t mean ignoring it, and we (and by “we” I mean patients, physicians, and most importantly, healthcare executives) should recognize this transposition of consumer ⇆ patient comes with a cost, and the cost is another step towards the dehumanization of a person’s experience as they engage the healthcare system.