Virtual Mentor. March 2009, Volume 11, Number 3: 197-274. Full Issue PDF

March 2009 Contents

Challenged Patient-Physician Relationships

Ethics Poll

What response have you had from a physician when you introduced information about your diagnosis (or self-diagnosis) that you got from the Internet? (Check all that apply.)
The physician commended me for researching my diagnosis (or self-diagnosis).
The physician warned me that much of what appears on the Internet cannot be trusted.
The physician informed me of Internet sites that are trustworthy.
The physician dismissed the information and continued with his or her own discussion of my diagnosis.
The physician acted as though I was challenging his or her knowledge.
I have never introduced information from the Internet in a clinical encounter with a physician.

The "classic" one-to-one model of the patient-physician relationship has been altered greatly in the last 3 or 4 decades by mechanization, specialization, insurance company demands for external approval of physician decisions, the rise of hospitalists, the team approach to health care delivery, and the concept of the medical home. On balance, do you think the diminished importance of the one-to-one patient-physician relationship has:
Improved the quality of patient care by adding more caregivers.
Detracted from quality of patient care by eroding the therapeutic relationship.
Had no significant effect on the quality of patient care.

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From the Editor

Patient-Physician Relationships: Gone or Evolving?
Anji Wall
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:199-201.

Educating for Professionalism

Clinical Cases

Low-Tech Solution to a High-Tech Problem
Commentary by David Anthony
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:202-206.

Is There a Duty to Inform Patients of Phase I Trials?
Commentary by Courtenay R. Bruce, Anne Lederman Flamm, Thomas W. LeBlanc, and Philip M. Rosoff
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:207-214.

Establishing Common Ground in a One-Time Patient Encounter
Commentary by Benjamin Levi and D. Micah Hester
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:215-222.

On Call

When Patient and Physician Disagree on Patient’s “Best Interest”
Ryan Blum
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:223-227.

Medical Education

The Patient’s Voice in Medical Education: The Family Centered Experience Program
Arno K. Kumagai
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:228-231.

Journal Discussion

Are There Blueprints for Building a Strong Patient-Physician Relationship?
Scott B. Grant
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:232-236.

Clinical Pearl

Type 2 Diabetes: Lifestyle Changes and Drug Treatment
Natalie A. Brooks
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:237-241.

Law, Policy, and Society

Health Law

Difficult Patient-Physician Relationships and the Risk of Medical Malpractice Litigation
Kristin E. Schleiter
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:242-246.

Policy Forum

Responsibility and Collaboration in Health Team Care
Kelly Dineen
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:247-252.

Medicine and Society

New Forces Shaping the Patient-Physician Relationship
Howard A. Brody
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:253-256.

History, Art, and Narrative

Medical Narratives

Yes, We Do Give Frequent Flyer (S)Miles
Chris Brooks
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Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:257-261.

Resources

Suggested Readings and Resources
PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:262-271.

About the Contributors
Full Text | PDF
Virtual Mentor. 2009; 11:272-274.