by Gienna Shaw, FierceHealthIT

Consumerism in healthcare is one of those trends that has been "looming" for an awfully long time. When the experts first predicted that patients would start shopping for providers as if healthcare was any other businesses--making decisions based on price, quality, and brand recognition, for example--the idea was met with skepticism, to say the least.

Over the years, the language used to describe the concept of consumerism morphed: the call for transparency gave way to talk of patient satisfaction to build loyalty, which in turn shifted to cries for a better patient experience to improve quality. And lately the focus has shifted, yet again, to patient engagement and e-patients.

Meanwhile, with each change came more champions ... and the number of skeptics and doctor-knows-best holdouts dwindled. In the past couple of years, the view that providers should treat patients as if they are partners in their own care has advanced especially fast--at least when compared to the glacial pace of change that's a hallmark of the healthcare industry.

To find out what's changed in the last 10 or so years to move this trend from "looming" to "arrived," read the full article at FierceHealthIT