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In the NYTimes.com article, In Search of a Good Doctor, Pauline Chen, MD surveys several fellow doctors to provide health care consumers and patients with guidance on selecting physicians but more importantly navigating health information available on the internet. She states:

And according to several of the doctors I spoke with, the amount of information available to patients will only increase in the future.

Throughout our conversations and e-mail exchanges, every one of the doctors stressed the importance of patients doing research and becoming an active part of the medical team. “This is a shared responsibility between the physician and the patient for the patient’s health,” said Dr. Ted Epperly, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Lisa V. Rubinstein, president of the Society of General Internal Medicine, said that sharing in decision-making “will help raise the quality of care given by any clinician, because it will sharpen the focus on the key decision points and help the clinician put a plan in place that the patient understands and agrees with.”

It is very encouraging to hear more and more doctors supporting active patient participation in care. Such an atmosphere maximizes patient autonomy as well as the level of respect with which care is delivered.

Source:

In Search of a Good Doctor (Chen, P. (2009, January 8). In Search of A Good Doctor. [Electronic Version] The New York Times.)