ABSTRACT
In 1890, Cathell in The Physician Himself wrote of the perils of an informed and educated clientele; he warned that educating patients would cheat doctors out of further visits or other potential patients. In his words:
Since the time of Cathell, the model of the wise physician with ownership over medical knowledge has flourished. This ownership contributed to the status and authority of physicians over patients (Starr, 1982). Although cracks occasionally appear in the model, there remain societal, institutional, cultural, and even communicative impediments to change. Medicine, at least in our lifetime, has always been more interested in providing the fish than teaching the art of fishing. Or, as Kreps (1996) suggested "the modem health-care system is designed to meet the needs of health-care providers and not consumers" (p. 42).
