Consumerism and Value Creation in American Healthcare

Book excerpt: What makes our healthcare system better? What makes it worse? Gary Fradin explores these issues in Consumerism and Value Creation in American Healthcare. He shows that employer based financing and various tax and subsidy programs decrease system value by adding costs without improving health. Supply side reforms aimed at changing physician behavior, he argues, never seem to achieve their desired results. But programs that teach consumers how to choose a hospital, a treatment or a test - and perhaps even more importantly, how to talk to their doctors wisely - can add tremendous value. Learn how appropriate consumer education can revolutionize our system, improve patient outcomes, decrease patient risks and lower overall system costs.