Patient participation requires a change of attitude in health care.

A partnership is founded on equality and mutual respect. In health care there is no balance of power between the patient and the health-care professional. To be able to create healthy partnerships we can aim for a balance by focusing on the interpersonal relationship between partners. To understand the system and be able to change it we have to see it from the patient's point of view. This implies a change of attitude in health care. Each of us have to select, plan and execute our own behavioural changes. We also have to create a system based on the premises of the consumers. Establishing a patient/relative panel is an example of creating an arena for building partnerships with patients. By combining professional knowledge with systematic input from experienced consumers the hospital organization can get access to valuable knowledge and insight to improve the care for the patients.