ABSTRACT
Models of the therapeutic relationship have been developed almost exclusively on the basis of the doctor-patient-relationship. The three most commonly mentioned models are: the paternalistic, the shared decision-making, and the consumerist. Beginning in the 1950s, Parsons posited the relationship between physicians and their patients as the functional interplay between two social roles with inherent duties and responsibilities. The patient assumes a ‘sick role’ which exempts her/him from the normal obligations of life, but in turn, is obliged to comply with the physician’s prescribed treatment and to strive to recover. In striking contrast to the paternalistic approach and an extension of the shared decision-making pattern is the consumerist model. It places decision-making firmly in the hands of the patient/consumer. Analyses of modern medicine often point out that while medicine is at a technological high point in its development patient satisfaction with medical care seems to be at an all time low.
