Part 3 of the ERDs begins with the call for a person in need of health care and the professional health care provider to engage in a relationship that is mutual, participatory, and collaborative. While a novel aspiration, the operationalizing of a trustful relationship remains elusive with complicating factors such as access problems, barriers to culturally competent care, biases (and outright racism), as well as health illiteracy and mistrust of the medical establishment. Such patients become labeled as ‘difficult.’ This presentation explored the intricacies of the patient-professional relationship and the role of human dignity in complex care situations.
