The patient as a prosumer of healthcare: insights from a bibliometric-interpretive review

J Health Organ Manag. 2022 Apr 5;36(9):133-157. doi: 10.1108/JHOM-11-2021-0401.

Abstract

Purpose: Healthcare policies around the globe are aimed at achieving patient-centeredness. The patient is understood as a prosumer of healthcare, wherein healthcare service co-production and value co-creation take center stage. The article endeavors to unpack the state of the literature on the innovations promoting the transition toward patient-centeredness, informing policy and management interventions fostering the reconceptualization of the patient as a prosumer of healthcare services.

Design/methodology/approach: A hybrid review methodology consisting of a bibliometric-interpretive review following the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol is used. The bibliometric component enabled us to objectively map the extant scientific knowledge into research streams, whereas the interpretive component facilitated the critical analysis of research streams.

Findings: Patient-centeredness relies on a bundle of innovations that are enacted through a cycle of patients' activation, empowerment, involvement and engagement, wherein the omission of any steps arrests the transition toward service co-production and value co-creation. Institutional, organizational and cognitive barriers should be overcome to boost the transition of patients from consumers to prosumers in a patient-centered model of healthcare.

Originality/value: The article delivers the state of the art of the scientific literature in the field of innovations aimed at sustaining the transition toward patient-centeredness and provides some food for thoughts to scholars and practitioners who wish to push forward service co-production and value co-creation in healthcare.

Keywords: Bibliometric; Co-creation; Co-production; Healthcare; Innovation; Interpretive; Patient; Prosumer; Review; SPAR-4-SLR; Service; Value.

MeSH terms

  • Bibliometrics*
  • Health Facilities
  • Health Policy*
  • Health Services*
  • Humans
  • Organizations
  • Patient Participation