[Adolescent medicine: a rewarding challenge in private practice]

Age-appropriate medical care for adolescent patients encompasses a consultation style that is adapted to the developmental stage of the adolescent patient. Core elements of an age-appropriate consultation style include the possibility for the adolescent patient to talk alone with the physician for part of the time, and assurance of conditional confidentiality. This is the basis for a trusted doctor-patient relationship that supports patient adherence, and particularly when considering the adolescent's psychosocial circumstances as well. The adolescent patient and his or her parents should be guided appropriately in the patient's stepwise acquisition of skills in order to take responsibility for his or her self-management.