The “patient as care partner” approach is nowadays considered as a major lever for the optimization of health care systems. Although patients must undeniably represent major stakeholders of a healthcare system, this field of practice on partnership requires to be better documented in order to improve effectiveness and efficiency and to establish good practices. This article raises three main research issues in the field of partnership in health : conceptual clarification, evaluation and understanding of practices. This article aims to initiate a dialogue on the construction of a research agenda on the theme of partnership.