Medical consumerism in the UK, from ‘citizen’s challenge’ to the ‘managed consumer’—A symbol without meaning?

Steve Iliffe; Jill Manthorpe

doi:10.1111/hex.13197

Medical consumerism in the UK, from ‘citizen’s challenge’ to the ‘managed consumer’—A symbol without meaning?

Steve Iliffe, Jill Manthorpe^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: In Britain's National Health Service (NHS), medical consumerism is disliked by many doctors but managed by NHS leaders. Managed consumers have choices about treatment options, but are expected to help contain costs, improve quality of care, take part in clinical research and advocacy, and increase productivity. There are so many meanings for medical consumerism that it can be categorized, in post-structuralist terms, as a ‘symbol without meaning’, but meanings are plentiful in the NHS. Policy expectations: Choices made by discriminating consumers were expected to improve the quality of medical care for all. Extending choice to the many, and not restricting options to the few, would allow gains from choices to accumulate, so that choice would sustain social solidarity. Managed consumerism would in theory, therefore, instil reasonable choices and responsible behaviours in a moralized citizenry, across the nation. The advocates of New Labour's espousal of medical consumerism expected the accumulative effects of customer choices to challenge professional and occupational power, erode the medical model of health and illness, constrain professional judgements, and open the NHS to new ways of working. Almost all their expectations have been thwarted, so far. Conclusions: Managed consumerism is far from being a meaningless symbol. This discussion paper explores the territory of managed consumerism and suggests realistic ways to make it more effective in shaping the NHS. Patient & Public Contribution: We developed the arguments in this discussion paper with insights provided by a lay expert (see Acknowledgements) with experience of consumerism in both public sector management and a disease-related charity.

Original language	English
Journal	Health Expectations
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13197
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 2021

Keywords

consumerism: national health service
patient involvement
professional authority: quality of care

Access to Document

10.1111/hex.13197

Cite this

@article{358c75786f9d4bc4be0f8d500e842455,

title = "Medical consumerism in the UK, from {\textquoteleft}citizen{\textquoteright}s challenge{\textquoteright} to the {\textquoteleft}managed consumer{\textquoteright}—A symbol without meaning?",

abstract = "Background: In Britain's National Health Service (NHS), medical consumerism is disliked by many doctors but managed by NHS leaders. Managed consumers have choices about treatment options, but are expected to help contain costs, improve quality of care, take part in clinical research and advocacy, and increase productivity. There are so many meanings for medical consumerism that it can be categorized, in post-structuralist terms, as a {\textquoteleft}symbol without meaning{\textquoteright}, but meanings are plentiful in the NHS. Policy expectations: Choices made by discriminating consumers were expected to improve the quality of medical care for all. Extending choice to the many, and not restricting options to the few, would allow gains from choices to accumulate, so that choice would sustain social solidarity. Managed consumerism would in theory, therefore, instil reasonable choices and responsible behaviours in a moralized citizenry, across the nation. The advocates of New Labour's espousal of medical consumerism expected the accumulative effects of customer choices to challenge professional and occupational power, erode the medical model of health and illness, constrain professional judgements, and open the NHS to new ways of working. Almost all their expectations have been thwarted, so far. Conclusions: Managed consumerism is far from being a meaningless symbol. This discussion paper explores the territory of managed consumerism and suggests realistic ways to make it more effective in shaping the NHS. Patient & Public Contribution: We developed the arguments in this discussion paper with insights provided by a lay expert (see Acknowledgements) with experience of consumerism in both public sector management and a disease-related charity.",

keywords = "consumerism: national health service, patient involvement, professional authority: quality of care",

author = "Steve Iliffe and Jill Manthorpe",

note = "Funding Information: JM is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South London (NIHR ARC South London) at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.1111/hex.13197",

language = "English",

journal = "Health Expectations",