Abstract

Medicine, as a science, art and skill, concerns itself with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of patients. At the centre of this practice is the patient-physician relationship of a special nature. This study argues that there is a missing link in modern-day medical practice which has distorted this relationship of a special nature, and the moral component of medicine. These two interconnected aspects of medicine are quickly fading away and have affected the quality of health care, where medicine is now purely seen as a business and technological-driven enterprise. Using the method of critical analysis, this study examines medical practice in recent times to find a solution to this disconnect that has evolved in the physician-patient relationship. The study deploys the novel theory of ‘Integrative Humanism’ and concludes that humanized integrative medicine is missing, which has greatly affected holistic quality health care and the physician-patient relationship of a special nature.