As healthcare in the United States has gotten so expensive, and because delivery systems have become so inefficient, some experts suggest that putting more control and decision-making into the hands of consumers will improve the healthcare system. This type of initiative is called consumer-driven or consumer-directed healthcare.
A consumer-directed system requires patient-consumers to be much more involved in their healthcare than the current system requires. Patients would be responsible more directly for the cost of their care, and would help make decisions about the kinds of diagnostic tests or treatments they would need. They would manage the cost of their care through high deductible insurance and health savings accounts.
Experts in healthcare reform suggest that consumer driven healthcare can help contain costs when consumers are given the information they need to make wise buying choices, just as they make wise buying choices for other goods everyday.
Critics suggest that the American healthcare consumer is not savvy enough to handle these responsibilities. In addition, some of the components required to make the system work, such as cost transparency, are missing.
