The second type of relationship the authors termed “informative.” It’s the opposite of the paternalistic relationship. We tell you the facts and figures. The rest is up to you. “Here’s what the red pill does, and here’s what the blue pill does,” we would say. “Which one do you want?” It’s a retail relationship. The doctor is the technical expert. The patient is the consumer. The job of doctors is to supply up-to-date knowledge and skills. The job of patients is to supply the decisions. This is the increasingly common way for doctors to be, and it tends to drive us to become ever more
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