Over the past decade, the idea of patient empowerment has been increasing in popularity. Although there is no consensus on the definition of this term, the concept contains some essential elements on which all can agree. They include involvement of the patient in decisions about personal health care and increased sharing of knowledge by health professionals to ensure that decisions are made wisely. However, it is not surprising that there is a range of views about the degree of power that patients should and do have and the context in which they should exercise this power. These views are rooted in ideological, political, and historical frameworks; and they center on ideas about professional dominance and, more broadly, on changes in structures and institutions that deliver health care.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rifkin, S.B. (2006). Patient Empowerment: Increased Compliance or Total Transformation?. In: Porzsolt, F., Kaplan, R.M. (eds) Optimizing Health: Improving the Value of Healthcare Delivery. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33921-4_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33921-4_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-33920-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-33921-4
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)