The relationship between the doctor and his patient plays a very important role in the practice of medicine and is essential for the provision of high quality medical care in terms of diagnosis and treatment of the disease . The relationship between the doctor and his patient is one of the foundations of contemporary medical ethics . Most medical schools teach their students from the beginning, even before they start receiving practical care instruction, to maintain a professional relationship with their patients, observing their dignity and respecting their privacy.The doctor , during the clinical interview , goes through a process together with the patient , where he needs:
- Establish a bond of trust and security with the patient (and their environment as well)
- Collect information about the patient’s situation using different tools (interview and history , medical history, physical examination, interconsultation, complementary analyzes, etc.)
- Organize, analyze and synthesize these data (to obtain diagnostic guidance)
- Design an action plan based on previous processes (treatment, advice, etc.)
- Inform, raise awareness and treat the patient properly (also implies actions about their environment)
- Reconsider the plan based on progress and expected results as planned (change of treatment, suspension, additional actions, etc.)
- Discharge at the time of resolution of the disease (when possible), but tend to measures that maintain the status of health (recovery, adjuvants, palliative, etc.)
Any medical consultation must be registered in a document known as a medical history , a document with legal, educational, informative and scientific value, where the procedure of the medical professional is recorded.
Importance
The patient should be confident about the competence of his doctor and should feel that they can make confidences to him. For most doctors, it is important to establish good contact with the patient. There are some medical specialties such as psychiatry and family medicine, in which more emphasis is placed on the doctor-patient relationship than others such as pathology or radiology .
The quality of the relationship between the doctor and his patient is important for both parties. The better the relationship in terms of mutual respect, knowledge, trust, shared values and perspectives on diseases and life, and the time available, the better the quantity and quality of information about the patient’s disease that will be exchanged in both directions, improving the accuracy of the diagnosis and increasing the patient’s knowledge about the disease or condition. In those circumstances in which the relationship is poor, the doctor’s ability to perform a complete evaluation of the patient is compromised and the patient is more likely to distrust the diagnosis and the proposed treatment, reducing the chances of complying with medical advice. In these circumstances and in those cases in which there is a genuine difference of medical opinions, a second opinion may be obtained from another doctor or the patient may directly decide to change doctors.
Issues
Doctor Superiority
The doctor can be seen as someone superior to the patient, since the doctor has the knowledge and titles. The doctor-patient relationship is also complicated by the suffering of the patient ( patient has its roots in the Latin word patior , “suffering”) and his limited ability to relieve himself, potentially resulting in a state of despair and dependence from the doctor.
A doctor should at least be aware of these differences in order to establish a connection and optimize communication with the patient.
Benefit or please
A dilemma may arise in those situations in which for a variety of reasons, what constitutes the most efficient treatment (or avoiding treatment) does not match what the patient wants. In these cases, the doctor must choose between the patient’s health or other material benefits, and the doctor-patient relationship or other psychological or emotional aspect over the other.
Formal or informal
There may be differences of opinion between the doctor and the patient as to how formal or informal the relationship between the doctor and the patient should be. In general, patients prefer to be called by their first name.
Pakistan education system specially MBBS studies and most importantly the ethics how doctors treat patient while taking history is drastic . Knowing the fact sam associates , the student visa and educational consultant Abbottabad Pakistan sending students to top standards foreign educational universities . It will help students of Pakistan to gain international exposure and quality standers so that they can contribute well and help and educate local doctors to treat well and build a strong and mannered relationship between doctor and patients.