Publications
Publications
- Behavioural Public Policy
Unhealthy Consumerism: The Challenge of Trading Off Price and Quality in Healthcare
By: Kate Barasz and Peter A. Ubel
Abstract
Over the last decade, healthcare in many parts of the world has shifted toward a more patient-centric, consumeristic model, marked by an emphasis on choice and a proliferation of typical consumer-facing information (e.g., price and quality data). However, while the "patients as consumers" perspective is an apt one, there are crucial differences between healthcare and typical consumer domains that warrant special consideration by policymakers and researchers alike. This article discusses some of these differences and explores the challenges that consumers (a.k.a. patients) face when making tradeoffs between price and quality.
Keywords
Medical Decision-making; Choice; Health Care and Treatment; Quality; Price; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making
Citation
Barasz, Kate, and Peter A. Ubel. "Unhealthy Consumerism: The Challenge of Trading Off Price and Quality in Healthcare." Behavioural Public Policy 2, no. 1 (May 2018): 41–55.