Patient-Oriented Services

Patients: From payer to player

As competition increases in the healthcare sector, hospitals and medical practices are focusing more and more on patients and their needs. The traditional image of the "patient" in the truest sense of the word - - a passive recipient of care - - is being replaced by the ideal: an active, independent user of healthcare services. Patients want to have a voice in choosing a doctor or a hospital and getting patients to participate in their own care is in everyone's best interests.

If patients are to get involved, they need clear, accessible information on the quality of treatment and the services on offer, as well as consultation and advice that focuses on their actual needs and which increases transparency. Often, however, independent sources of information are lacking, exactly the sources that would effectively support patients in becoming proactive users able to make an informed decision.

The primary reason for this is that most of the currently available information and most of the initiatives aimed at increasing transparency offered by actors within the healthcare system are geared toward pursuing goals that are often at odds with the interests of patients. Further drawbacks include a lack of user-friendliness, a confusing diversity of services and insufficient awareness among the general population of what is on offer.

Given its independent focus as a nonprofit organization, the Bertelsmann Stiftung is working to increase transparency within the healthcare sector and improve the quality of healthcare-related services. It also wants to ensure that the sector focuses consistently on the interests of patients and healthcare consumers. Ultimately, the goal is that patients should be given a greater voice in their own care and should evolve into active, equal partners within the healthcare system.