CP Statement Concerning Professional Autonomy and Responsibility

Abstract

"The health care systems undergo many and rapid changes. On the one hand there is the emancipated, increasingly well-informed patient whose expectations are high and whose demands for medical care are great; on the other hand politicians and managers are following policies of cost containment. Such conditions put pressure to bear on the relationship between a doctor and patient. Professional autonomy, properly defined and used, can help to preserve a balance between needs, demands and responsibilities of the parties involved with a priority for patient's needs."