Consumerism and the provision of health care

Forty years ago Richard Titmuss suggested that there are a range of limits (he identified at least 13) to the idea of consumerism (voice, choice and exit by patients) in relation to health care. For example, most patients enter the doctor-patient relationship on an uanequal basis in terms of status, knowledge and access to resources (such as drug prescribing and referral to other experts). And many patients do not know in advance exactly what medical procedures and drugs they will need-they rely on doctors for advice.