Building a cooperative
doctor / patient relationship

January 2010     View PDF     En español

A positive HIV antibody test or an AIDS diagnosis changes many aspects of a person's life, including the kind of relationship they have with their doctor. Many people develop a more assertive attitude about their health and well-being when they find out they have HIV. Because HIV disease and its treatment is complicated, making decisions about when, how and whether to start therapy isn't always easy.

One great step to take is to become an active participant in your health care and treatment decisions. This means that both you and your doctor need to learn how to work and communicate with each other.

This publication's intention is to help both patient and doctor establish reasonable expectations of each other and to set up a climate of cooperation and joint responsibility for healing. Just as there isn't a "one size fits all" approach to HIV care, there's no one doctor-patient relationship that suits everyone.