Attitudes Towards Healthcare, Research Paper Example

The way that consumers and physicians as well as other healthcare providers regard the healthcare system is remarkably similar, according to results of several significant surveys of both groups. Rising healthcare costs involved in obtaining medical care as well as economic factors have caused many consumers to delay care, make changes in household spending on healthcare, and worry about whether or not they will be able to pay for future health care costs (2011 U.S. and Global Survey of Healthcare Consumers, 2011.) Physicians have similar concerns about the financial elements of the health care system, as well as their ability to control their practices. This paper will summarize the overlap between consumers’ and providers’ attitudes about the health care system.

In the United States, 75% of consumers in a survey acknowledged that the recent economic slowdown has had an impact on their health care spending. In addition, one fourth of those respondents admitted that they refrained from seeking medical help when they were sick or injured. Not surprisingly, consumers lacked confidence that they would be able to manage health care costs in the future. Only 22% of consumers in the United States rated the country’s health care system as “excellent” or “very good.” In addition, 38% of healthcare consumers in the United States graded their health care system as failing (2011 U.S. and Global Survey of Healthcare Consumers, 2011.)

The negativity with which consumers regard the health care system was matched by similar attitudes by physicians. A majority of physicians questioned believed that the quality of healthcare, rising costs and control of patients over their medical care will not be improved by healthcare reform (Survey Findings: Physician Attitudes on the Affordable Care Act, 2012.) They were also quite pessimistic about their ability to maintain control over their own medical practices; although they believed that the Affordable Care Act might increase patients’ access to healthcare, they felt that it would give them as well as patients less control over their healthcare. The negative attitudes that both physicians and consumers have about healthcare in the United States could ultimately be channeled into a positive outcome if both groups collaborated to lobby for reforms to the health care system that would be less costly and improve the quality of care as well as doctor-patient relationships.

References

2011 US and Global Survey of Healthcare Consumers. (2011). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from Deloitte: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Industries/US-federal-government/center-for-health-solutions/health-care-consumerism/5ddc188790d90310VgnVCM2000001b56f00aRCRD.htm

Survey Findings: Physician Attitudes on the Affordable Care Act. (2012). Retrieved December 11, 2012, from Jackson Healthcare: http://jacksonhealthcare.com/media-room/surveys/physician-attitudes-on-the-affordable-care-act-2012.aspx