Role of a doctor in the society :

1. Doctors are the center point of the team who are involved to cure a patient.
2. Doctors are the important part of primary health care in union & upazilla level.
3. They are the important fighter against communicable & non-communicable disease.
4. They help to conscious people about child & maternal health care & diseases; e.g. diarrhoea. PEM. EPI, pregnancy & lactational disorders.
5. Doctors can play important role in policy making for the health care service of the country.
6. Doctors can play very important role in disaster, like earthquake, flood, cyclone etc.

Definition of doctor patient relationship :

Doctor patient relationship : The doctor patient relationship is central to the practice of healthcare and is essential for the delivery of high-quality health care in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The doctor patient relationship forms one of the foundations of contemporary medical ethics. For most physicians, the establishment of good rapport with a patient is important. Some medical specialties, such as psychiatry and family medicine, emphasize the physician-patient relationship more than others, such as pathology or radiology.

Doctor-patient relationship :

Communication on an emotional plane: The doctor must give a sympathetic ear to the complaints made by the patient and his relatives. This is necessary to establish a quick reaport.

Communication on a cultural plane : Secondly, the doctor should be aware of the general concepts of culture and social organization of the community with which he is dealing. This helps to acquire certain “flexibility” in his dealings with patients.

Communication on an Intellectual Plane : Practitioners of modern medicine come from well-to- de families. By their education and training, they tend to be sophisticated. This leaves a wide gap between the intellectual level of the practitioners of modern medicine and the illiterate masses. In other words, there is an enormous “social distance between the two groups. A successful doctor is one who reduces this distance and is able to communicate with his patient freely and wins his confidence. A most important component of doctor patient communication is humour. It is the best iccbreaker for the patient frozen by fear and anxiety.

Role of a doctor in developing doctor-patient relationship :

1. A doctor must always keep in mind the importance of preserving human life from the day of conception until death.
2. When some examinations and treatments are beyond his capacity, he should summon another doctor who has the necessary ability.
3. A doctor should maintain absolute professional secrecy of the patient.
4. A doctor must give necessary treatment in emergency circumstances, unless he is certain that it can be given by others.

Role of a patient in developing doctor-patient relationship :

1. A patient must have confidence in the competence of their physician and must feel that they can confide in him or her.
2. He should furnish the doctor with complete information about past illness, family history of diseases and the facts & circumstances of his illness.
3. He should strictly follow the instructions of the doctor as regards diet, medicine, mode of life etc.
4. He should pay a reasonable fee to the doctor.

The doctor-patient relationship is not satisfactory in our country due to :

1. Uncooperative attitude of the patient
2. Differential treatment between the rich and poor.
3. Lack of a sympathetic and friendly attitude of the doctor.
4. The doctor’s greed for money.

The sick role : 

The sick role : Four aspects of the sick role have been described

1. The sick person is exempted from his normal social responsibilities depending upon the severity of his illness.
2. The needs to be cared for.
3. Sick role is regarded as a misfortune.
4. The sick person is obliged to seek competent medical care, and to cooperate with the doctor in the process of getting well. A typical sick role is temporary, but some patients prefer a prolonged sick role in order to escape everyday responsibilities.