Armed with information, patients have become active partners with health care professionals in managing their own health care - and they have become savvy consumers. Rather than remaining uninformed and relying entirely on health care professionals, patients today are asking questions, evaluating information, and making choices. The sources of user-accessible information about health care have increased exponentially. Some 50 consumer magazines focusing on health care hit the news stands every month. Just about every television station in the country has a health care reporter dedicated to medical news.
Internet users can surf tens of thousands of sites dedicated to various health care topics.
It also fosters competition among products, which can lead to improved quality and lower prices for consumers. It helps start a dialogue between patients and doctors. Often, this dialogue will not result in the doctor prescribing the drug that the patient has asked about. But it will prompt a discussion that may lead to better understanding and treatment of the patient's condition. Physicians wanted tight control over what information was conveyed to patients.