Introduction.

Demand for consumer health information is not a recent trend. It has an extensive and proud history. The movement of medical consumerism can be traced to 1945 when Baby and Child Care was published by pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock. His book introduced innovative child-rearing techniques that changed the way parents raised their children. Fifteen years later, consumer-based medicine made its debut with the contraceptive pill. The Pill empowered women to take control of their bodies by preventing pregnancy. Ralph Nader's book, Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-in Dangers of the American Automobile, published in 1965, instantly became a reference for consumer safety and advocates. In 1969, during the women's civil rights movement, a comprehensive book, Our Bodies, Ourselves, was published (Boston Women's Health Book Collective, 1969). Written by women for women, Our Bodies, Ourselves invited women to get acquainted with their bodies and pay attention to inner cues for healthy living.

The women's movement ushered in a new era of consumer health information, when patients and physicians formally initiated open relationships that led to the partnerships we see today in health care. In 1972, the American Hospital…