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Partha Kar: Is genuine patient choice possible in the NHS?

Patient choice. Patient empowerment. As doctors we may say that we welcome, want, or support these things—but how much do we mean it? How much does the system actually allow it? How often are we doing any more than the bare minimum to tick a box, in terms of providing patient choice? The uncomfortable answer is that we’ve only just moved beyond paying it lip service.

But giving choice to patients can be tricky. If we say that the patient knows best, we’re bound to spark a debate with colleagues. And the extent to which any …