ABSTRACT
The unfortunate truth is that patients have less to say about their healthcare than other parts of their lives, such as where to live or what cars to buy, in part, because choices are limited by reimbursement rules and regulations from third-party payers. Plus, healthcare has technical elements that often intimidate patients, who find it easier to give up control to highly educated professionals. Patients may not want to learn about their medical conditions or to be assertive by taking a leadership, or even an active, role in their care. The current system does not expect patients to do this, and in fact, it seems to discourage this behavior.
