Incorporating Patient Knowledge in Japan and the UK: A Study of Eczema and the Steroid Controversy : Routledge : 9781032090054 : 1032090057 : 30 Jun 2021 : Since the turn of the millennium, the potential for patients' knowledge to contribute to medical knowledge has been increasingly recognized by medical sociologists and anthropologists. Where previously such knowledge may have been written off as 'beliefs' and assumed to be inaccurate when it contradicted established medical science, it is increasingly recognized that patients?especially those with chronic conditions?can add a valuable perspective to the clinical knowledge of medical professionals. Sometimes this means working together to reassess treatment priorities, and at other times it may mean a patient-led movement to influence the direction of new research, based on patients' experiences. Ushiyama takes the case of eczema (atopic dermatitis)?a chronic condition with a history of patient-led controversy over treatment methods