The physician-patient relationship arises from state statutes and common law
rules. The special rights attendant to the medical license, combined with the
physician's superior knowledge and access to medical care facilities, underpin
the physician-patient relationship. In the past, physician paternalism and
failure to give patients adequate information left the patient little power.
Through informed consent doctrine and the patient's rights movement, patients
have gained substantial autonomy in relation to physicians. This patient
empowerment has been greatly constrained by the increasing power of third-party
payers over both physicians and patients. Informed choice means little if
insurers will not pay for alternative care or limit the patient's right to
choose a physician.
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