Ethical aspects of the doctor-patient relationship

Recently, the doctor-patient relationship has undergone major structural change by growing pressure from an ethic of personal autonomy, that gives patients greater control over their own lives, on a paternalistic "helpful healer's" ethic, whereby the doctor determines what should be done. It is a change in which informed consent by the patient has come to the fore in the traditional relationship with his doctor-as-friend-and-counsellor. The change is not without drawbacks as regards the quality of medical practice. The main characteristics of the two kinds of ethics are contrasted and some inferences drawn for the future course of medical practice.