The “doctor‐customer” relationship: Hippocrates in the modern marketplace
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
ISSN: 0952-6862
Article publication date: 1 February 2002
Abstract
We performed a consecutive survey of 100 people presenting to a hospital injury clinic to ascertain their attitude to terminology currently used to describe them in our own institution and in the international literature. The results of this demonstrated that the subjects significantly preferred the traditional assignation “patient” rather than terms such as client or customer. This finding reflects the need to remember peoples’ attitudes and expectations from their consultation with their doctor. Although business models undoubtedly help in the provision of an efficient health care service, remaining at the centre of this encounter is a doctor‐patient relationship that involves a more complex interaction than simply a market transaction.
Keywords
Citation
Mulhall, K.J., Ahmed, A. and Masterson, E. (2002), "The “doctor‐customer” relationship: Hippocrates in the modern marketplace", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 9-10. https://doi.org/10.1108/09526860210415551
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited