The Evolution of Patient Empowerment and Its Impact on Health Care's Future

In the 21st century, health care has been going through a paradigm shift called digital health. Due to major advances and breakthroughs in information technologies, most recently artificial intelligence, the patriarchy of the doctor-patient relationship has started evolving toward an equal-level partnership with initial signs of patient autonomy. Being an underused resource for centuries, patients have started to contribute to their care with information, data, insights, preferences, and knowledge. It is important to recognize that at its core, digital health represents a cultural transformation, where patient empowerment has likely played the most significant role in driving these changes. This viewpoint paper traces the remarkable journey of patient empowerment from its nascent stages to its current prominence in shaping health care's future. Spanning over two and a half decades, we explore pivotal moments and technological advancements that have revolutionized the patient's role in health care. We dive into a few historical milestones, mainly in the United States, that have challenged and redefined societal norms around agency, drawing parallels between patient empowerment and broader social movements, such as the women's suffrage and civil rights movements. Through these lenses, we argue that patient empowerment is not solely a function of knowledge or technology but requires a fundamental shift in societal attitudes, policies, health care culture, and practices. As we look to the future, we posit that the continued empowerment of patients will play a pivotal role in the development of more equitable, effective, and personalized health care systems. This paper calls for an ongoing commitment to fostering environments that support patient agency, access to resources, and the realization of patient potential in navigating and contributing to their health outcomes with an emphasis on the emerging significance of patient design.