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seeing and doing, and they'll bring those ideas to their doctor. 'I have a golf buddy who says this; what do you think?' The doctor will say, 'Yep, I understand that, but it's not appropriate for our situation.' And more than likely the patient will say, 'You're the doctor, if that's what you say, that's fine.'" Private Choices, Made in Public While Marston argues that generational characteristics remain static across a lifespan, Eric Mueller, services president of WPC, portrays the younger cohorts' affinities for community and technology flowing up the generational scale. "I think right now you're seeing a unique shift in how providers talk to potential patients," says Mueller. The social circle around patients is getting denser. Employers, through their role as insurance buyers, are imitating the social networks that spring up naturally. 36 | Twin Cities MD NEWS I MDNEWS.COM "Social media has grasped the way we think. Sharing information, sharing decision making with groups of users … many today live in those circles, whether family, friends or [coworkers]. From Facebook and Twitter all the way to LinkedIn, they're sharing some kind of information. People are accustomed to asking for advice or for [decision support] in their circle of trust." The elderly, too, Mueller says, turn to communities to help with decisions. "Many times an elderly parent or grandparent has an engagement with a physician or a group of physicians where they never ask questions, whether because they're intimidated or because they grew up that way. And when they go back to their caregiver and there's opportunity for debate, a lot more questions are asked—valid questions such as how different medicines will conflict or how one therapy interacts with another. Decision making in a group

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