Consumer-driven health care: just a tweak or a revolution?

Although some believe that consumer-driven health care amounts to nothing more than a tweak to the current system of third-party payment, others see it as a far more profound development. They argue that enabling patients to control more of their health care dollars will lead to transformation throughout the health care system, starting with a demand for information. Once patients control the resources and are equipped with information, they will expect health care providers to deliver high-quality services at reasonable prices and at the convenience of the buyer.