physician-patient relationship

physician-patient relationship

A formal or inferred relationship between a physician and a patient, which is established once the physician assumes or undertakes the medical care or treatment of a patient. A physician-patient relationship is assumed to have been created in certain situations (e.g., when a patient is seen in a physician’s (private) office), but is not assumed to exist in others (e.g., when a doctor performs a physical examination as a health screening procedure).

physician-patient relationship

Medical malpractice A formal or inferred relationship between a physician and a Pt, which is established once the physician assumes or undertakes the medical care or treatment of a Pt; the establishment of a PPR is 'automatic' in certain situations–eg, in the physician's private office, but in others–eg, physical exam as a health screening procedure, it cannot be assumed to exist. See Abandonment, Doctor-Pt interaction.