Abstract
As far as the physician- patient relationship is concerned, the physician’s primary responsibility is to promote the health and well -being of the patient directly under his/her care. At the same time, the patient’s role in medical decision making is also debatable. There occurs a conflict of ideas when the values of the patient coincide with the value of the physician. This patient’s autonomy and physician’s dominance makes physician- patient relationship as unique, depending on the context, purpose and function of each physician- patient encounter and the specific expectations of all parties involved. These aspects vary from one culture to another and change over time. Hence, the different models of physician-patient relationship reflect the wide spectrum of the clinical encounter that are established in dissimilar situation and at different times. Therefore, out of the four different models, one single model cannot be labeled as perfect but time to time, these models are ethically evaluated and justified by normative standards. The model which fulfills the community’s moral values is considered to be the preferred model. Therefore, it is right to say that the physician-patient models are culturally sensitive and dynamic.

Nargis Khan, Syed Humayun. (2013) PHYSICIAN- PATIENT RELATIONSHIP – AN ETHICAL PARADIGM, Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Volume 52, Issue 1.
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