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Consumer Value and Consumerism in Healthcare: The Role of Social Media in the Patient-doctor Relationship
Short Abstract
The specific purpose of this study is to test on the one hand the relationship between consumer involvement in healthcare, consumer knowledge and empowerment. On the other hand, the study investigates the relationship between empowerment and consumer value dimensions including emotional, social and functional values. Social media is changing the communication dynamic between patients and hospital, patients and physicians, and patients and healthcare insurance providers. The change has impacted not only healthcare cost but also the quality of the service. This study has shown that the change in communication has not been initiated by healthcare providers but by consumers. However healthcare providers can still influence patients’ involvement and the nature of the health related information they acquire by controlling the source of the information. The study showed that care providers could not control the influence of social media on patients desire to acquire healthcare information but they could control the source and the content of the information.