What Should A Patient-Physician Relationship Ideally Look Like?

The patient-physician relationship is at the core of healthcare. It can have a very significant bearing on the clinical care administered. The goal of the patient-physician relationship is to improve the patient’s medical care and, eventually, their health.

The stronger the patient-physician relationship, the better the health outcomes enjoyed by the patient. As medical caregivers and practitioners begin to recognize the importance of a positive patient-physician connection in their line of work, it becomes essential for them to understand what factors can help them found such an equation with their clients.

Is there such a thing as an ideal patient-physician relationship?

History has witnessed an enormous amount of debate regarding how an ideal patient-physician bond should manifest.

Back in 1992, Ezekiel and Linda Emanuel had proposed four models for a patient-physician relationship. These four different models can be differentiated with regards to their interpretation of four key principles at work – the physician’s obligations, the role of patient values, the goal of patient-physician interactions, and the concept of physician autonomy.

The four different patient-physician relationship models, as suggested by the Emanuels, are as follows – the paternalistic model, the interpretive model, the informative model, and the deliberative model.

We will attempt to learn how these different models differ below –

• In the paternalistic model of patient-physician relationships, the patient values are objective and shared by both the patient as well as the physician. The physician’s obligation here is to improve the patient’s health irrespective of their personal preferences. The patient’s conception of autonomy is related to assenting to objective values. The physician plays the guardian’s role in this model of patient-physician relationships.
• In the interpretive model, patient values are incoherent and need elucidation. The physician’s obligation lies in interpreting patient values and then putting them into practice. Patient’s autonomy depends on their self-understanding of the setup, and the medical caregiver plays a counselor’s role here.
• In the informative model, the patient has fixed and distinct values. The physician’s role is to provide the patient with relevant information concerning their chosen form of intervention. The patient exercises their choice over the treatment they receive. The physician is a competent technical expert in the informative model for the patient-physician rapport.
• Lastly, in the deliberative viewpoint of patient-physician relationships, the patient brings values that are open to revision. The physician serves to articulate the values that are the most helpful for the patient’s selected form of medical intervention and then implements this interventional procedure. The patient’s role is to develop themselves morally with respect to medical care. On the other hand, the physician’s purpose is to act as a friend or teacher.

The patient-physician relationship cultivated depends mainly on the nuances shared by the two parties and the trust that both the parties are willing to invest in their relationship. The dynamics or nuances shared by the patient and physician are a factor of how effective the communication between them is.

Phoenix Family Medical Clinic posits faith in the cultivation of a healthy patient-physician relationship for the benefit of the patient’s treatment and healthcare.

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