Neoliberalism and Healthcare in the Age of Social Media: An analysis of Yelp reviews for Philadelphia Medical Practices

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2020
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
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en
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Full copyright to this work is retained by the student author. It may only be used for non-commercial, research, and educational purposes. All other uses are restricted.
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Healthcare in the United States has become deeply linked with the same neoliberal ideologies that shape our national economy and because of this, healthcare for Americans resembles more the service industry than it does a necessary human right. For this reason, the same inequalities present in the US economic system translate to healthcare. This thesis seeks to understand the state of healthcare in Philadelphia through the analysis of Yelp reviews of doctors’ offices and health clinics- specifically, through the doctor-patient interactions described on Yelp by reviewers in the Rittenhouse Square and North Philadelphia neighborhoods. While the reviews of patients in Rittenhouse were reflected on aspects of the encounter that include the doctor’s demeanor and the atmosphere of the clinic. While patients in North Philadelphia also reflect on these aspects of their experience, they are also focused on wait times and quality of care itself. What is clear is that there are discrepancies between the experiences of patients in these two neighborhoods which can be linked to broader structural implications of neoliberalism and healthcare.
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