The Patient-Doctor Relationship A Socio-ethical Issue

Abstract

The Patient-doctor relationship is a most important issue in medical treatment. But somewhat research in this area has been fragmented. The physician has a duty to act in the patient’s best interest and to remain abstain from exploiting the patient. Respecting the fiduciary relationship and the trust of the patient is a mainspring of the ethical medical practice. Patient autonomy is now an established concept in medical practice. Physicians have an obligation to disclose relevant medical information to patients, so that they can make decision about their treatment. This type of disclosure would violate the confidentiality that is essential to the patient-doctor relationship. Although doctors have a responsibility to disclose all relevant medical information to patient, they also have a corresponding duty not to disclose this information to a third party. Doctors have an obligation to respect patient autonomy. Correspondingly, patients have a duty to follow doctors advise. The patient-doctor relationship is a cooperative relationship of shared decision making.