Are health providers still patients' chief advocates?

The pressures of competition and the health care marketplace have changed the relationship between health care providers and patients. Patients, and the third-party payers who control health care dollars, are less in awe of providers' prerogatives, and providers have become timid in asserting their rights and their knowledge in the health care equation. Providers can regain their role as patients' advocates, however, if they acknowledge the realities of the marketplace but are open in their dealings with patients.