Fraternity Of Men Did Not Extend To Patients
Source: “The Role of the Hospital in the Development of Modern Medicine: A Sociological Analysis” by Ivan Waddington Sociology, Vol. 7, No. 2, 211-224 (1973)
as quoted in The Limits of Medicine Edward S. Golub. Crown; 1st edition (November 1, 1994)
The practice of medicine hospitals shifted after the French Revolution. Especially notable was the ascension of the doctor to the dominant role in the clinician-patient relationship, a dramatic contrast to the same relationship in the early eighteenth century in which the patient was dominant. Within that context, this quotation, dealing with adherence, is poignant.
According to an English observer of the Parisian hospitals in 1843, the patients were “always required to conduct themselves in an orderly and respectful manner; they are aware on entering the hospital that they must comply, unhesitatingly, with [the doctors'} advice, and abide by the directions of the medical officers; if the slightest difficulty occurs they are immediately discharged. " [Italics mine]
Commentary
Patient compliance and the doctor-patient relationship ain’t what they used to be — unless one picks the historical period carefully.
