Letting the Patient Call the Shots

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/health/04chen.html?em

Above is an article on the NY Times about the idea about collaborative approach to health care. As a physician in training, I was taught that physicians were the authority figure in health care. I also remember when I was providing primary care that I was taught to deny the patient "unnecessary" prescription of antibiotics.

Today, given the information revolution, I am not sure that a physician, even a specialist, can know better than a motivated patient who is well-read on the subject. I often share with patients that I can provide the perspective, knowledge, and experience. Patients provide the context and subjective experience of how their condition is affecting their life.

I view integrative medicine as not just a combination of Eastern and Western medicine. Rather, it is a transformative way of practicing medicine in a collaborative approach with patients being of assistance to them. Also it is about honoring patients' experience of their suffering of their ill-ness and guiding them back to well-ness. I recall Dr. Bernie Siegel, who helped me through the development of my career, stating that [as physicians], we are a privileged listener.