Shifting between roles of a customer and a seller – patients’ experiences of the encounter with primary care physicians when suspicions of cancer exist

PURPOSE: Sweden has tried to speed up the process of early cancer detection by standardization of care. This increased focus on early cancer detection provides people with a conflicting norm regarding the importance of recognizing possible cancer symptoms and the responsibility of not delaying seeking care. Based on existing norms about patients’ responsibility and care seeking, this study explores how patients experience encounters with primary care physicians when they seek care for symptoms potentially indicating cancer. METHODS: Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients receiving care for symptoms indicative of cancer in one county in northern Sweden. Data was analysed with thematic analysis. RESULTS: The common notion of describing patients as customers in a healthcare context does not sufficiently capture all aspects of what counts as being a person seeking care. Instead, people interacting with primary care face a twofold role in where they are required to take the role not only of customer but also of seller. Consequently, people shift between these two roles in order to legitimize their care seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Standardization oversimplifies the complexity underlying patients’ experience of care seeking and interaction with healthcare. Hence, healthcare must acknowledge the individual person within a standardized system.