The do-it-yourself health care consumer: preliminary identification and marketing implications

Although the presence of do-it-yourself (DIY) segments in some service-markets have long been taken for granted (e.g., home improvement and auto repair), the recent emergence of DIY segments in law, health, and other service-markets has been surprising to many observers. This paper examines the DIY segment in the health service market. The emergence of a DIY segment may be misconstrued by some service-marketers as being synonymous with lost clientele. This paper (1) explains some of the marketing implications of a DIY health services segment and (2) provides a brief profile of the DIY health services consumer. The paper concludes that the DIY segment represents new opportunity rather than lost clientele to service-marketers.