Why do we choose the Internet instead of the doctor next door?

Summary

This article aims to deepen understandings of physician–patient encounters by investigating views and perceptions held by Swedish physicians and care seekers on medicine access. Through a relational approach and a focus on materialities of medicines as fluid and contingent, we conceptualize medicine access as situated everyday practices and physician–patient encounters as embedded in sociomaterial configurations. Through a bricolage approach, we present both quantitative and qualitative data from physicians and care seekers. We argue that diverging views on medicine access held by both parties do not necessarily position medical professional knowledge as opposed to lay knowledge. They are reflective of a shifting healthcare landscape and evolving expectations on provision and experiences of care services.