Abstract:

Improved education, the internet and the growth of healthcare information and interest in healthcare have made consumers far more aware of causes and alternative treatments for a wide range of conditions. We have evidence from focus group discussions of patients specifying the prescribed medications and treatments they require to practitioners, with the threat of shopping around GPs unless they receive their requirements.This research used actual survey information with patients and doctors in two different cultures Japan and Australia to examine the extent to which consumers are involved in his/her healthcare, where they source information, and how they use the information with healthcare practitioners.