The rights and responsibilities of a physician in a hospital environment

Although each case must be decided on its merits, certain principles founded on case law set the pattern that may be expected to operate in resolving the problem that arises or in aiding a counselor in advising his client, be it physician or hospital. In all situations, the rights of the several parties and the relationships between them must be considered: physician's rights, patient's rights, the patient-physician relationship, the rights of the hospital and the power invested in its governing board, as well as the duties owed by the physician to his patient and to the hospital, and the duty of the hospital to serve the community in which it is situated. All of the foregoing material is a summary of the case law in the various situations that have arisen, as well as the author's expectation as to what might be anticipated in those situations not yet resolved by case law.