ABSTRACT
The interest in health care ethics over the last thirty years reflects many of the same cultural shifts which account for the increased attraction of nonconventional therapies. There has been a general disillusionment with authority and a refusal to accept the view of ‘the experts’. At the same time, there has been a growth of interest in consumer rights. These social changes have prompted dramatic shifts in the relationship between patients and their conventional health practitioners. In the past, patients accepted doctors’ advice uncritically. They are now expected to explain the available options to their patients and are required by law to provide sufficient information to enable the patient to choose whether to accept or refuse treatment. This is most notably witnessed in the transformation of the doctor/patient relationship from a model of benign paternalism to a therapeutic alliance in which informed patients are encouraged to participate in decision-making.
