Introduction
Consumer behavior is how people act when buying goods and services. Consumers make purchasing decisions based on their needs, wants, and preferences. They consider many factors before purchasing, such as price, quality, brand name, and product availability. In contrast, consumers who make purchases for personal use or consumption purposes are patients who seek medical care for various reasons, such as illness or injury. Patients may have different motives for seeking medical care, which include physical symptoms, psychological problems, or preventive maintenance. The main difference between consumers and patients is that consumers act rationally, while patients behave irrationally in their decision-making process.
The Concept of Discretion
An example of a healthcare purchase would be my friend’s purchase of a pulse oximeter. To understand whether this purchase was discretionary, it is necessary to analyze how critical it was. A friend of mine recently had Covid-19 and had problems oxygenating his blood due to post-covid lung damage. Thus, this purchase cannot be called discretionary since it is necessary to monitor an important indicator of health and can save his life in case of possible complications. One can also judge my friend’s primary or secondary nature as a consumer. My friend, in this case, is the primary consumer since this purchase was entirely his initiative. In other words, he initiated the purchase of the pulse oximeter; that is, he was not influenced by advertising or acquaintances.
Differences Between Patients and Customers
Patients make decisions based on what they believe will help them achieve better health outcomes or overall wellness. For example, one person may need glasses for vision correction, while another may need a new carpet. The first purchase is necessary as it improves the quality of life to a standard level, and the second one is optional, as it only affects their lives a little. They only sometimes consider other factors when making these decisions, such as cost, quality, or convenience (Gusmano et al., 2019). Patients tend to have a short time horizon when making healthcare purchasing decisions because they focus on achieving better health outcomes rather than thinking about how long something will last or how much money it costs.
The most crucial difference between a patient and an ordinary consumer is the conditionality of the needs of patients to the state of health. This conditioning immediately stands out sharply if the patient needs a service or product on which his life depends. Thus, the patient’s desire is vital; for example, a patient needs a heart operation, and an ordinary consumer needs a new car (Gusmano et al., 2019). If an average consumer can do without a car, then a patient cannot do without surgery, since their life depends on it. The final difference is that patients must be aware of drug properties when purchasing. Unlike ordinary consumers, to choose the right product, patients require a more profound knowledge of medicine. Thus, deceivers can easily deceive a patient needing help, for example, by selling conventional medicine at exorbitant prices.
Conclusion
Summing up, with the knowledge from this study, it can be argued that patients and consumers are completely different concepts. Yes, patients are consumers, but unlike them, patients are consumers involuntarily. They consume not out of desire, like most modern consumers, but out of need, which can sometimes even be vital. This state of affairs may seem unfair since patients face more difficulties than ordinary buyers, but this injustice cannot be avoided.
Reference
Gusmano, M. K., Maschke, K. J., & Solomon, M. Z. (2019). Patient-centered care, yes; patients as consumers, no. Health Affairs, 38(3), 368–373. Web.