Introduction

Doctors can be radical patient activism's best friends or worst enemies. This chapter looks at radical doctors and at conservative doctors, the allies and antagonists of the title. Most doctors are conservative to varying degrees, accepting the status quo; they tend to be antagonistic towards radical patient activism. A minority of doctors are radical, questioning the status quo; they tend to support radical patient activists’ ideas and definitions of higher standards. These differences are little recognised, either in general or when doctors and patient activists work together to formulate new standards of care. Three examples are drawn on to explore some of the difficulties of this work, as well as its potential for articulating standards that meet the perspectives, purposes and interests of both doctors and patient activists.

Conservative and radical doctors

Conservative doctors tend to support the status quo, the standards in place at a given time, and radical doctors tend to question or oppose some of them. Conservative doctors tend to limit the freedom and responsibility of patients to choose how to act and radical doctors tend to support or promote those freedoms and responsibilities.