GHIT Notebook

June 22, 2007

The power of the patient

In much of the current conversation on healthcare the consumer/patient is often brought up as the future driver of the industry, inasmuch as policies and technologies will allow him or her to have a much bigger say in how healthcare is delivered. Think pay-for-performance and public physician rankings, the hype over wellness programs, or the supposed rise of consumer-based outfits such as Revolution Health and WebMD.

Get down to brass tacks, however, and the reality is that the same old hierarchy -- insurance company, hospitals, clinics, physician groups, government health departments and THEN patients -- continues relatively untouched, so you have to wonder where this consumer-led business will come from.

There is power in the patient, however, as this story on the impact patient groups are having on disease research reminds us. As the story points out, this isn't just a passive involvement. Patient groups are busy raising funds for research, and are even conducting their own research into such things as the side effects of medications.

Such patient groups have been around ever since the main online medium was the bulletin board. But current Web technologies make it much easier for them to collaborate, and also makes them more visible.

Also looks at what's happening across The Pond. A web site called Patient Opinion, set up by a general practitioner in England to enable patients to share their experience of hospital care and interact with physicians, recently went nationwide after several years of pilots (this via eHealth Insider).

Another UK health information website, Patient UK, launched an interactive forum called Patient Experience that will also allow people to share their experiences and to provide each other with tangible support while they battle their ailments.

It's a conundrum that many health practitioners have noted time and again. Despite the best advice of their physicians, many people tend to believe the experiences of others with the same ailments more. Doctors prescribe medications, but fellow sufferers dispense shared experiences and empathy. For patients, that's often the best evidence-based medicine.

As the Web continues to spread its influence these grassroots, grassroots patient-based networks will only grow, both in number and reach. How the medical hierarchy chooses to deal with this evolution of patient power may have more to say about the future of the healthcare business than anything else.