Gone are the days of paternalism. Has the pendulum swung too far the other way. Marcia Angell writes:
Doctors have become vendors and patients consumers operating in a medical marketplace. Patients are now expected to take responsibility for their healthcare decisions, choosing and designing their own treatments, sometimes with little or no direction from their doctors. To be sure, doctors are supposed to present the options, along with the pros and cons of each, but they’re not supposed to decide which is best for the patient. If patients ask what they should do, doctors often retreat to generalities: “I’ve seen some patients do very well with option A.”
(via White Coat Notes)
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“As patients, your best bet is to ask your doctors what they would do in your place”
When I read that line, I realized that’s what my doctors say to me when I’m having a problem deciding: “If it were me…”. I appreciate hearing that from them.
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