Abstract :
Doctors by virtue of their profession are the main front line care givers. To be good to their patients, maintaining all the ethical boundaries and follow their duty to care are the important landmarks in their personality. Human nature leads to friendly behaviour, emotional attachment and intimate relationships. Such relationships or attachments between a doctor and patients often lead to complications, especially if the genders are opposite. There are a number of guidelines, developed for the medical profession by the global regulatory authorities, which embed ethical concerns and dilemmas in the event of personal intimacy in doctor-patient relationship. According to Bernstein, ethical concern arises because of potential conflict of interest and loss of objectivity on the part of physicians leading to a compromise in patient care. Sexual relationships are never permitted and if emotional involvement develops, it should be kept a secret or the patient be referred to some other physician. Stephen Post quotes a research stating that physicians are shown at their worst, leading to the conclusion that the patients must be protected from their doctors. Rourke and Rourke3 describe a number of challenges that are met with in this relationship.
