Similarly, just as the nature of medical practice has changed, so has the relationship between doctor and patient. The earlier relationship between doctors and patients assumed that patients were ignorant and could not possibly know what was in their best interests. Patients were often not informed that they had any choices, that they could refuse treatment or that they could seek a second opinion. This paternalism often led doctors to act on their own view about what was best for a patient with little regard to the patient's wishes. There is now widespread community acceptance of the principle that a person has a moral right to decide what health care, if any, they will receive.
Guidelines can be useful information tools for health care consumers.
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