journal of digital research & publishing - The Sydney eScholarship ...

1 P M J O U R N A L O F D I G I T A L R ESEARCH & P UBLISHING
demonstration in this paper that the basis on which authority is inferred is different
between doctors and patient advocates indicates that patient advocates are a new and
different type of authority in health care and that therefore they cannot replace doctors.
Also, doctors, unlike patient advocates, can prescribe all types of medication, perform
physical exams and perform operations.
Conclusion
Patient advocates directly and indirectly challenge traditional forms of authority in health
care. Their impressive use of Internet publication modes has facilitated their emergence
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extent to which the patient­doctor relationship is being transformed is debatable although
there is clearly a shift occurring. As long as certain cultural and legal constructs remain
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medical professionals.
New knowledge about how patients use the Internet in their health care management has
implications for the development of health care policies and practices, with the possibility
of improving levels of health care and a more common partnership approach in the doctor­
patient relationship emerging.
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