The Role of The Healer and “Payment” in Ancient Times It is evident through ancient writings that forms of healing were present as far back as is recorded. Medicine, healers and forms of payment seem to have played an important role in the past, like they do now. However, over the centuries changes have taken place. From the time of Galen in ancient Rome to the 14th and 15th centuries in England the relationships between doctors and patients have evolved, along with the way medicine is defined and practiced. Specifically I would like to focus on forms of payment and their effect on the doctor-patient relationship and how payment and the practice of medicine have changed over time. These changes led to a healer-patient relationship that was not as personal as it was in the time of Galen. Instead of the healer playing the role of a friend helping his neighbor, we find that being a doctor became a form of trade and the doctor started selling his services for money. The relationship between a doctor and his patient is a theme that is present in many of the writings we have from ancient times. There was a personal knowledge of the patient and an ongoing relationship with them that most doctors nowadays do not have with their own patients. Patients in our day and age walk in to a doctor’s office and wait for a long period of time, and then see a doctor for a few minutes. In the ancient world the healer would actually come to the house and perform services for the patient there (Prognosis, 170). Healers have always tried to provide an explanation to their patient while treating their illness. However, in the time of antiquity the shared closeness of patient and healer gave the patient an added assurance that their trusted friend or neighbor had their best interests in mind. There is also evidence of this type of relationship in the Hippocratic society. The writings of Galen describe how he was treated Eude...
