The changing doctor-patient relationship
The second aim of this website is to suggest ways in which doctors and their patients can improve communication and facilitate good care.
Something seems to have gone a bit wrong with the current form of the doctor-patient relationship. In its finest ideal the doctor’s role is one of care, protection, and advocacy on behalf of the patient.
However, in place of this attitude of service, which entailed a sense of responsibility for the welfare of patients 24 hours a day, the practice of medicine has become fragmented. Now it may appear that the terms of the doctor’s contract seem to ‘trump’ the patient’s needs. Patients may feel like commodities which are the subject of contractual arrangements, a source of funding for the practice or clinic rather than a respected consumer. The loss of ‘out-of-hours’ cover on the part of GPs has led to more patients seeing an unfamiliar emergency doctor or attending A&E departments with relatively minor concerns which a familiar doctor could have sorted out speedily and dependably.
My aim now is to stimulate a revolution in healthcare by educating and empowering the general public in ways which will expedite the patient journey to effective care.
If you practice as a doctor, this website will help you to recognise the patient perspective, appreciate the need for sharing knowledge, and help you enhance empathy for your patients and cooperation with them. Hopefully it will make your role easier.
Topics
- Why the doctor patient relationship needs to change
- Benefits of a new approach (with examples)
- The great doctor-patient imbalance
- The Ambition: from the patients’ point of view
- Patient Education
- The choice of a consultation companion
- What to do in the face of bad news
- Understanding shorthand: ‘Scores and Pathways’
- How to research profitably for health information on the internet
- Patient Responsibility
The Doctor’s role today