As part of our ongoing series, Patient Engagement Perspectives, we interviewed Dr. Raphael Cooper, an anesthesiologist at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov).
I think in in this country specifically, I’ve seen that the way that medicine is practiced is very paternalistic. The doctor tells the patient what they’re supposed to do and the patient says ‘okay this is what I’ll do’.
I think [that] in other countries (I’m [originally] from England) where I’ve seen there that patients are much more encouraged to ask questions about their treatment, what they should be doing, and whether this is the right thing for them or not.
And I think now in this country [Israel], we should start to encourage patients to ask and ask and ask, and understand what’s happening to them, what their disease is, and what its management and treatment is.
And I think in this way patients can become, obviously, a bit more engaged. We can work together more as a team, rather than them just be listening hearing what the doctors are saying to them. I think that will improve the patient鈥檚 experience.
