Changing the healthcare culture: the consumer as part of the system of care.

As more information on the poor quality of healthcare becomes available, consumers, purchasers, and health plans are asking questions that will change healthcare delivery and the practices of purchasers. Past practices that include fragmented approaches; fleeting incentives; short-term, transaction-based payment structures; and failure to engage the customer are coming to an end. They are being replaced by collaborative and systemic views. Consumers, through their purchasers of healthcare, are demanding new methods, new metrics, and a higher standard of accountability for all parties. Purchasers themselves are turning up the heat on providers to act with the consumer perspective in mind and are advocating continuous, consumer-driven healthcare delivery.