This essay argues that physicians hold primary ethical responsibility for repairing damaged patient-physician relationships. The first section establishes that the patient-physician relationship has an important influence on patient health and argues that physicians' duty to treat should be understood as including a responsibility to repair broken relationships, regardless of which party was "r...

Furthermore, the core of good healthcare is centered on the patient supported by healthcare professionals. Fragmentation in communication by distance, culture or time – whether it be in the examination and diagnosis (including tests) or in the treatment phase – puts at risk the quality of the relationship between patient and physician/carer. Point-of-care testing can overcome the potentially di...