BMJ 2000;320:117 ( 8 January )

Letters

Partnership with patients

    Treat patients as you would like to be treated yourself
    Local communities have role in influencing health policy
    Modern antipaternalism needs to be invigorated
    Doctors in Egypt deal with patients in their own way
    Perspectives must be reconciled
    Teamwork is necessary
    Family doctors are part of team
    A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing

Treat patients as you would like to be treated yourself

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR---Patients today are different from patients in the past. Well informed patients want your knowledge, your listening, your analysis, your opinion, but not your decision. Luckily, you need not be the all-knowing doctor of the past. You discuss and reflect and you enable patients to reach a decision on how to face the future. The atmosphere of the consultation should be calm, gentle, and respectful.

If possible, meet patients in the waiting room and invite them into your room. In general, you should encourage them to bring a partner or friend. The discussion may be serious, and at home the partner or friend might help in reconsidering the content of the consultation. Be aware that patients lose their autonomy when visiting a doctor. One of your duties is to try to restore that autonomy.

Always apologise if you are late and therefore in a hurry. If you have . . . [Full text of this article]
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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Mccabe, M. P., Ricciardelli, L. A., Salmon, J. (2006). Evaluation of a Prevention Program to Address Body Focus and Negative Affect among Children. J Health Psychol 11: 589-598 [Abstract]  
  • MacKian, S. (2002). Complex cultures: rereading the story about health and social capital. Critical Social Policy 22: 203-225 [Abstract]  

Rapid Responses:

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How to treat patients in the way we would wish to be treated in NHS obstetrics
A F Pentecost
bmj.com, 16 Jan 2000 [Full text]
Partnership with patients
Brian Hogbin
bmj.com, 15 Jan 2000 [Full text]
Partnership with Patients
Michael H Yardley
bmj.com, 17 Jan 2000 [Full text]
Patients should see doctor alone first
Peter Carson
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