The doctor-patient relationship: friend or adversary?

Abstract

Uniliersi~ )l Proliidence. R.I. The qualit y of every Doctor-Patient Relationship is never static but is perpetually changing. A physician can never take a Doctor-Patient Relationship for granted with any patient or at any point in time. Appreciation of this basic tenet leads to the growth of confidence and respect in the Doctor-Patient Relationship. Confidence and respect discourages the initiation of an adversarial attitude. the herald of all legal proceedings. The Doctor-Patient Relationship is a privileged relationship granted to physician s. initiated at the professional level , and favors the development of trust and co nfidence. It is natural for a trusting and confident patient to view the doctor as a friend. The wise physician exploits professional respect for the mutual benefit of both patient and doctor. Respect coupled with the patient's perception of the physician as a friend facilitates the physician's work, allays the patient's fears, and can generate within the patient an understanding of the physician's efforts on behalf of the patient. Without patient understanding of the physician's efforts and in the absence of patient awareness of the physician's empathy toward the ill patient. a Doctor-Patient Relationship can exist without respect for the physician and easil y lead to misunderstanding. Misunderstanding in any human relationship in today's society has a propensity to deteriorate toward litigation To generate trust and confidence in the Doctor-Patient Relationship, the physician must exert a constant effort to achieve human understanding of the patient's perception of his or her current health status. In many instances the patient's perception does not match reality and this imposes an additional duty on the physician to teach. Teaching patients allays fears and promotes understanding by both patient and physician. Human understanding by the physician cannot be equated with scientific understanding or ability . Human understanding is the ph ysician 's first step toward developing empathy. Empathy, in turn, increases the physician's awareness of the patient's fears related to the potential consequences of present illness and fosters a friendship attitude. Thus, human understanding and empathy are interrelated in the form of a positive feedback system to