Abstract

Today's ever-widening expert/novice gap–in technology generally but in healthcare technology especially–has been implicated as both cause and consequence of a sharp rise in fundamental misunderstandings between medical professionals and lay populace. Recently created social roles and institutions have further prompted critics to suggest that a multiplication of “disinterested” experts not only fails to resolve such misunderstandings, it compounds them. As a result, it should come as no surprise that the problem of paternalistic expertise has emerged as an ethical issue of immense interest from both a theoretical and practical standpoint. For this reason, a critical inquiry in healthcare today centers on finding a practical model that most adequately and accurately characterizes patient–physician relationships.