On the role of patient

Modern, highly technical health care systems increasingly remove patients from active participation in managing their own medical treatment. This is particularly true when serious or life-challenging illness occurs. Health psychology has much to contribute in the debate over the degree of patient self-determination necessary to achieve optimal treatment outcomes. Psychologists may directly influence this process through their professional contact with medical patients and their families. Through researching the behavioral skills of medical consumership, identifying the elements of effective patient-physician interaction, and encouraging physicians-in-training to adopt a propatient partnership attitude, psychology adds new dimensions to the provision of health care. This paper reviews some of the issues faced by patients with life-challenging illnesses through the writer's personal experience, and seeks to identify the requisite actions for informed, participatory involvement on the part of patients.