Doctors retain their gatekeeper role for prescription medication

The “empowered patient” continues to be the subject of various studies – but to what extent are patients actually involved in decisions about their treatment? People who take prescription medicines on a regular basis were asked this question as part of the Produkt + Markt 2011 healthcare study. Only one in ten said they had been actively involved in making the decision about the treatment prescribed. 

Of these, 6% had specifically asked their doctor for the medication they wanted. A similar number of patients said they were offered various treatment alternatives which they had been free to choose from. The majority of respondents were given a specific recommendation by their doctor that they then accepted, but in one in four cases the doctor alone decided on their medication. 

These findings confirm that doctors act as gatekeepers in the selection of prescription medicines. It will be interesting to see how the level of influence wielded by patients changes over time. 

As part of its 2011 healthcare study, Produkt + Markt carried out a representative survey in September 2011 in which 600 German citizens were questioned about healthy lifestyles, attitudes to health, health insurance and their role as patients. Extracts from the study are published weekly on www.produktundmarkt.de. 

Your contact at Produkt + Markt:
Christoph Fritsch
Tel.: +49 5407/885131
mailto: Cfritsch@ProduktundMarkt.de




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