title: [Sexual contact between doctor and patient].
abstract: Codes of medical practice forbid a doctor to have sex with a patient. Still, practice and attitudes turn out to be unruly, so there is a need for (public) discussion and education. Moreover, other professional limitations in the doctor-patient relationship (e.g., 'non-medical' physical contact, dating a patient, accepting gifts from a patient, and treating partners, family-members and friends) require more attention to facilitate the reverification of the impermissibility of a sexual relationship with a patient. The need for such reverification is underlined by the expected changes in the balance between engagement and detachment in the doctor-patient relationship due to the influences on medical practice of technology, protocols and the discontinuity of personal care.
authors.affiliation: Huisartsen Oude Turfmarkt Amsterdam, tevens: VU Medisch Centrum, afd. Metamedica, Postbus 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam. fj.meijman@vumc.nl
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Meijman
mesh_terms: D032781:Codes of Ethics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D037921:Gift Giving; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D010820:Physicians / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology; D028743:Professional Misconduct; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology