Jeff Smoot explores how the Healthcare industry has become focused on and driven by the consumer. Over the past couple of years patient experience has rightfully become a stronger focus in healthcare delivery.  In most developed countries consumer or patient advocate groups have formed, demanding a stronger voice for the consumer regarding the impact of health policy decisions. 

It was reported that no single party within the health sector anywhere in the world has (to date) demonstrated how to reconcile the two opposing forces of escalating costs and restricted expenditure. Worse still, these calculations had not factored in the emerging trends that would compound the scale of the problem, which includes the escalating prevalence of chronic diseases, where an average population of 33% is drug dependent for life on around six medications which often doubles once in residential care.