This article discusses the idea that people need to become more autonomous in terms of their medical care:
http://e-patients.net/archives/2014/12/ ... icine.html
http://e-patients.net/archives/2014/12/ ... icine.html
There is another critical limitation to the kind of partnership that doctors and patients can develop. Much as with the the fable of the chicken and the pig, there’s a fundamental difference between the doctor’s involvement and the patient’s commitment in their care. In business, true partners share both risks and benefits. But this is not possible in healthcare, where the patient alone lives (or dies) with the consequences of medical decisions. That’s where the participatory medicine notion of doctors and patients as equal partners falls apart. Therefore, the patient alone must develop a sense of personal responsibility and learn to practice the inalienable nature of her authority over herself, if she so desires.