Addressing requests by patients for nonbeneficial interventions.

摘要

Patients are increasingly willing to challenge physicians' intellectual authority. Patients request interventions based on media publicity about new research findings, sometimes before physicians learn about them. Internet sources of clinical information empower patients to make medical judgments independent of consultations with physicians. Direct-to-consumer advertising prompts patients to diagnose themselves with conditions tied to advertised drags. In one respect, physicians should welcome these changes: clinical encounters involving informed patients become gratifying when both parties collaborate to advance patients' best interests. However, patients who misinterpret self-acquired medical information may request unnecessary or even harmful interventions.