The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The confidential patient: the social construction of therapeutic relationships in general medical practice

The confidential patient: the social construction of therapeutic relationships in general medical practice
The confidential patient: the social construction of therapeutic relationships in general medical practice
The interpersonal relationship between doctor and patient is fundamental to general medical practice. In this paper we explore the ways in which general practitioners make sense of the changing political economy of this relationship, as it is restructured by ideas about the patient as consumer, and as it increasingly constitutes the consultation as a point of interaction that may be intrinsically therapeutic. In particular, we explore the ways in which the consultation is the site of negotiated power relations between doctor and patient, and is the site of the doctor's negotiation of powerful discourses of professional and institutional identity.

0038-0261
187-203
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Dowrick, Christopher
1869ad5e-1959-446c-b2a8-3fcdf3e79667
Richardson, Michael
cb500c2f-6c92-43d1-9527-76fc1e442c36
May, Carl
17697f8d-98f6-40d3-9cc0-022f04009ae4
Dowrick, Christopher
1869ad5e-1959-446c-b2a8-3fcdf3e79667
Richardson, Michael
cb500c2f-6c92-43d1-9527-76fc1e442c36

May, Carl, Dowrick, Christopher and Richardson, Michael (1996) The confidential patient: the social construction of therapeutic relationships in general medical practice. The Sociological Review, 44 (2), 187-203. (doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.1996.tb00421.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The interpersonal relationship between doctor and patient is fundamental to general medical practice. In this paper we explore the ways in which general practitioners make sense of the changing political economy of this relationship, as it is restructured by ideas about the patient as consumer, and as it increasingly constitutes the consultation as a point of interaction that may be intrinsically therapeutic. In particular, we explore the ways in which the consultation is the site of negotiated power relations between doctor and patient, and is the site of the doctor's negotiation of powerful discourses of professional and institutional identity.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: May 1996

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 163283
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/163283
ISSN: 0038-0261
PURE UUID: 3cba12ba-5fd8-41b5-988a-723c4928dfb8
ORCID for Carl May: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0451-2690

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 17 Sep 2010 13:04
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:04

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Carl May ORCID iD
Author: Christopher Dowrick
Author: Michael Richardson

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×