Barriers to good health care.
BACKGROUND
Being a doctor to a colleague is a great honour for any medical practitioner. However, it also presents many challenges. These challenges will be discussed in a series of articles looking at how to best be a doctor for other doctors.


OBJECTIVE
This article, the first in the series, explores potential barriers to good medical care when the patient is a doctor. Subsequent articles in the series will discuss strategies for overcoming these barriers.


CONCLUSIONS
There are many barriers to doctors receiving ideal medical care These barriers include issues around boundaries, embarrassment, confidentiality, payment for services and medicolegal issues. Having an awareness of these barriers can help treating doctors to offer the best possible care to those colleagues who choose to see them as patients.
Koppe
Hilton
H
North Coast GP Training, Lennox Head, New South Wales. hiltonkoppe@optusnet.com.au
D001315:Australia; D003219:Confidentiality; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence