By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Does Insurance Cover the Cost of Therapy?
    June 14, 2022
    mental health loss loved one
    Covering Your Own Medical Issues After Losing a Loved One
    July 21, 2024
    healthcare SaaS
    Venture Capital Trends for Healthcare SaaS Platforms
    May 24, 2024
    Latest News
    Cigarette Makers Sue the FDA Over New Labeling Rules
    July 8, 2025
    End-Use Verification: Simple but Potentially Powerful
    July 8, 2025
    How Much do Financial Incentives Matter to Physicians?
    July 8, 2025
    NanoViricides Reports Positive Anti-viral Effect of HIV Drug
    July 8, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Consumers to Battle the Healthcare Gods
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > Consumers to Battle the Healthcare Gods
eHealthHealth ReformMedical DevicesMobile HealthTechnology

Consumers to Battle the Healthcare Gods

Caroline Popper
Caroline Popper
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

There’s a joke that’s often shared by medical students: “What’s the difference between God and a doctor? God doesn’t think he’s a doctor.” Regardless of your spiritual orientation, the line illustrates the lofty perch (and decision-making power) occupied by physicians in today’s healthcare settings. But, as we at Popper and Co. have discussed, a new wave of consumer power may eventually topple this perch.

There’s a joke that’s often shared by medical students: “What’s the difference between God and a doctor? God doesn’t think he’s a doctor.” Regardless of your spiritual orientation, the line illustrates the lofty perch (and decision-making power) occupied by physicians in today’s healthcare settings. But, as we at Popper and Co. have discussed, a new wave of consumer power may eventually topple this perch.

A recent story in the Wall Street Journal by author Doc Searls, “The Customer as a God,” focused on the growing power of customers using electronic devices for daily communication, shopping and other activities. Most current product development, the article points out, focuses on improving the supply of products to the customer, not involving the customer in making those products. This however, is changing. The story projected a future in which people use their devices to pick out clothes, replace parts for appliances, and shop for products—all unencumbered by invasive marketing tracking methods, corporate service plans, and other systems that, as Searls says, “tend to herd customers as if they were cattle.”

I saw a number of parallels between this view of today’s and tomorrow’s consumer electronics world and the healthcare industry. In the consumer electronics world, internet/wireless service providers determine how the consumer will use devices and control the internet that connects them. Meanwhile, in healthcare, physicians and hospitals “provide” the care that patients are told to accept. Fast forward about 10 years, and the providers are no longer in charge—the consumers are.

More Read

health wearables
Health-Focused Wearables: Can Innovators, Providers, and Insurers Work Together?
Opportunities for Surgical Sealants, Glues and Hemostatic Agents
Social Media Optimization for Mobile Devices: What Healthcare Marketers Need to Know
How to Optimize Your Healthcare Marketing: Common Conversion Rate Improvement Tactics
New Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Belt Will Monitor Heart Rates

Just as in the consumer electronics world, healthcare is not yet completely in the hands of consumers. As digital health pioneer Eric Topol said, the medical establishment is replete with entrenched institutions and individuals resistant to this type of change.

“We are moving away from information asymmetry, ‘Doctor Knows Best,’ to a true democratization of medicine,” he said. “Like in the 1400s with the Gutenberg printing press, people learned to read—that is coming with each individual’s key medical data, like blood pressure, glucose, heart rhythm, displayed on their smartphones.”

While many refer to “personalized medicine” as the treatments and diagnostics that arise from our advancing knowledge of biology to an individual level, the term is starting to mean something else; the consumer demand for treatments that are tailored to their personal needs and aspirations (as well as a tailored treatment for disease).

The “inflection point” of medicine—where portable devices, low-cost genetic screening, and a wealth of accurate online health information all merge to allow a consumer to call the shots—isn’t here yet, but it’s close. Perhaps the ancient Greek writer Homer had it right in The Iliad, where men (and a woman or two) fought alongside the gods.

Do you see the same future of healthcare? How close are we to medicine’s inflection point? What would it take to create a new consumer power? Please share your views with us.


TAGGED:customer service
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Health Care Buzz Today
Business
July 8, 2025
As We Mature (age), Things Change…
Orthopaedics
July 8, 2025
FDA Approves Roche (Genentech) Skin Cancer Drug–Zelboraf
Business
July 8, 2025
Smart Money on Pfizer?
Business
July 8, 2025

You Might also Like

Health careMedical EducationMedical InnovationsNews

4 Important And Helpful Medical Advancements For 2020

March 10, 2020
Health ReformPolicy & LawTechnology

HIMSS Federal & Stage Public Policy Update

August 20, 2015
dental care
Dental healthTechnology

5 Technologies That Are Shaping the Future of Dental Care

August 29, 2021
social media
Social Media

7 More Social Media Tactics That Boost Engagement

February 1, 2016
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?