The doctor-patient relationship.

This essay focuses on the doctor-patient relationship as a measure of ethical behavior by the physician. The perspective is derived from commitment as a religious humanist to the Judaic heritage, and experience in hospitals. The ethical responsibility to be competent professionally is presupposed. Emphasis is placed on the need of the physician to respect the autonomy of the patient as person, thus to limit the paternalism inherent in the physician's position, and to re-enforce this with compassion. Judaic sources supporting such conduct are cited. Exception is taken to decisions by civil and rabbinic judges which disregard the intimacy of the doctor-patient relationship.