Figures & data
Figure 1 The three inventions of evidence based medicine, patient education, and autonomy.
Notes: The dotted line suggests that there may be a conflict between, on the one hand, evidence based medicine and patient education, and on the other hand, the introduction in medicine of the principle of autonomy. Note that the three inventions were done almost simultaneously.
Figure 2 Four models of the physician–patient relationship, definitions from Emanuel and Emanuel.Citation35
Figure 3 A model of care in chronic diseases: patient education as an ethical pathway. A definition of patient education: patient education is the empowering process that in chronic care not only provides information to the patients but also leads them to an interpretation of their own preferences and a deliberation between their, and the HCP’s, preferences.
Figure 4 Solving the paradox: patient education promotes patient’s autonomy.
