There is a joined responsibility of the client (patient) and also the healer during treatment and prevention. I was talking to a friend the other day and asking him about the lab work that he was was supposed to have gotten and found he  was putting it off with various excuses , none of which were economic. Such as, I was too busy; while I know he starts his day at 9-10 AM and could be at the lab at 7:30 am. Yet, he wanted his physician to write him a prescription for a schedule II pharmaceutical which ethically, morally and in the practice of good medicine has to be followed by lab work between every 6-12 months.

This is a long introduction on what is the role of the patient and the physician or healer. Of course this is my opinion! The client has the responsibility of following the physician’s requests or addressing the physician with questions of why the requests are necessary. I believe the physician has the responsibility of explaining why the steps of the treatment are necessary and what they mean. If the client does not agree after the explanations, in my mind he does not trust or agree with the expertise of the healer and should move on to healer which s/he feels more comfortable

I have experienced too many avoidable problems in medicine with physicians trying to be too accommodating and sacrificing what they know as good medical practice so that the patient can be accommodated. The healer is usually doing this with an open heart and empathy for the patient. But it is comparable to a parent not explaining to their child the consequences of doing or not doing an act and then not being forceful enough to enforce what is right for the child’s safety.

On the other hand, too often the client wants the convenience of the physician doing all the work for them and believing that the “pill popping” will make them better. Obviously this is false! The medicine or alternative treatments will help alleviate or cure the person but only if directions are followed by them and/or practiced by them . For example; an orthopedic surgeon can put a prosthetic shoulder in the patient but the patient has to dutifully follow through with the post surgical assigned program to get full beneficial range of motion.

It really bothers me if the physician or healer does not sit and explain the importance of their regimen for whatever the pathology with the attitude that the client is not smart enough to understand: but it also really bothers me when the client is nonchalant about the explanation and directions and believes that the responsibility is all on the healer. Ultimately it is the client that suffers physically and mentally when the healing is not as complete as possible. I find it helpful for the client to prepare a list of questions before the interview with the physician since often time is limited and also the client is nervous and forgets problems that s/he wants to have answers. This tactic helps the physician alleviate stress of the client and also get to know the client better.

So compliance is a two way avenue. The physician can only be a guide (and life-guard when necessary) for the client and not the full time caretaker. The medicine is so often only to relieve the symptoms and signs but not the panacea for wellness. The client is responsible for following advice or not with the knowledge that there are always options and also consequences for any action. The client also needs to practice good health regimens as much as they can to keep a good immune system

I hope this blog helped to enlighten some readers it was a good cleansing for me.