4 questions | Applied Sciences homework help
- Consumer Laws, Agencies, and Strategies, 503 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 504 Federal Trade Commission, 515 U.S. Postal Service, 517 Other Federal Agencies, 517 State and Local Agencies, 518 Physician Regulation, 518 Nongovernmental Organizations, 519 Consumer Action, 522
Appendix: Trustworthy Sources of Information, 525 Federal Government Agencies, 526 Nongovernmental Organizations, 526 Glossary, 529 Index, 541 xii Consumer HealtH Issues Consumer health goes far beyond the decision to buy or not to buy. The ever increasing perplexity of the health care delivery system; the prevalence of myths and misconceptions about health, disease, and remediation; the widespread usage of unproven health products and services; and the rapidly escalating costs of health care have ushered in the need to educate individuals in the proficient, judicious and eco- nomical utilization of health information, products, and services. Niles l. KaplaN1 Evidence clearly demonstrates that people are susceptible to error even when choosing among a handful of alternatives to which they can devote their full attention. Barry schwartz2 Chapter One Reprinted with special permission from King Features Syndicate Part One Chapter One Part One Dynamics of the Health Marketplace2
- To get the most out of our health-care system, consumers must be knowledgeable and appropriately assertive.
- Virtually all legitimate health products and services have bogus counterparts.
- Intelligent consumers maintain an appropriate level of skepticism and recognize their susceptibility to perceptual distortions and cognitive biases.
- Consumer protection agencies are unable to deal with many of the complaints they receive.
- Everyone in a free society has a stake in maintaining high standards in the health marketplace.
Keep tHese poInts In mInd as You studY tHIs CHapter Key Concepts Consumer health encompasses all aspects of the marketplace related to the purchase of health products and services. It includes such things as buying a bottle of vitamins, a cold remedy, a dentifrice, or exercise equipment and selecting a physician, dentist, insurance policy, book, Web site, or other source of information. Consumer health has both positive and negative as- pects. Positively, it involves the facts and understanding that enable people to make medically and economically sound choices. Negatively, it means avoiding unwise decisions based on deception, misinformation, or other factors. Worksheet 1-1 provides an opportunity to test your knowledge of consumer health issues.