ABSTRACT
All codes of ethics stress the importance of respecting the patient autonomy. The principle of respect for autonomy requires that practitioners provide their patients with sufficient information to make informed choices and that practitioners respect the treatment choices patients make. The increased prominence of the duty to respect patient autonomy has had a profound influence on the health care relationships. Whereas Hippocratic and other ancient healing traditions have always stressed the duty of the physician to care for and benefit the sick, modern health carers are encouraged to treat patients as equal partners in a joint therapeutic alliance. This requires competent patients to take a full and active role in decisions regarding their treatment, although, in reality, the choices patients are offered have usually been predetermined by what the practitioner thinks is appropriate. The participatory model of autonomy also overlooks the extent to which illness may compromise a patient’s autonomy and create a sense of dependence on the practitioner.
