Need for further education of healthcare professionals on doctor -patient relationship

The number of lawsuits and financial claims involving health care professionals has been growing recently. Most commonly, patients do not complain about the quality of the medical care they receive. They often complain about the general bad attitude to them and medical formalism. A statistical analysis of lawsuits involving health care professionals has shown that most of the claims result from conflicts between a health care professional and a patient. In the paternalistic model of doctor- patient relationship that has been used in medicine until recently, emphasis is made on controlling patients' decisions and providing care to them. As patients receive more information today about their diseases and treatment options, there has been a growing need for shared decision-making, i.e. discussing the diagnosis and suggested plan of treatment with a patient. In addition to the paternalistic approach in doctor-patient relationship, there are alternatives models, such as informative, interpretive and deliberative. Thus, a good doctor must not only be an expert in his field, have excellent knowledge of the subject and be good at performing medical procedures, but be able to communicate with patients effectively.