The physician as advocate

Health-care advocacy extends beyond the understanding of environmental, social, and economic factors that affect health. Patient advocacy is more than a role--it is a principle that governs the patient-physician relationship and the practice of medicine. Physicians should be reminded that the healing power of medicine is not self-appointed. The authority of medicine derives from the principle of patient advocacy--that is, for 3,500 years society has identified, separated, and commissioned physicians for the sole purpose of providing care to sick and suffering patients. If we physicians compromise on patient advocacy, we will surely surrender this commission.