Information asymmetry in health care is a concept that expresses that there is an imbalance between health care providers and patients in terms of information and communication. In this situation, healthcare providers have more knowledge and expertise than patients. Information asymmetry in health services may arise for various reasons. These include differences in education and experience of healthcare providers, limited knowledge of patients on health-related issues, complexity of medical terminology and communication problems between healthcare providers and patients. This information asymmetry may affect patients' decisions about health services. Patients may have difficulty accessing accurate information about their health status, may not fully understand their treatment options, and may have difficulty accurately assessing the information provided by healthcare providers. Furthermore, technology-based solutions that enable patients to access their own health information and actively communicate with their healthcare providers can facilitate patient access to information and reduce information asymmetry.

In this section, some concepts that can be considered as determinants of information asymmetry between healthcare providers and patients and their effects on service delivery are analysed.