title: Patients, friends, and relationship boundaries.
abstract: When patient and physician are close friends, both professional and personal relationships can suffer. Jointly exploring and setting explicit boundaries can help avoid conflict and maintain these valuable relationships. This is particularly important when the physician practises in a small community where such concurrent relationships are unavoidable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London.
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Rourke
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D017008:Negotiating; D009769:Object Attachment; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology*; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012380:Role