[Sexual contact between doctor and patient]

Codes of medical practice forbid a doctor to have sex with a patient. Still, practice and attitudes turn out to be unruly, so there is a need for (public) discussion and education. Moreover, other professional limitations in the doctor-patient relationship (e.g., 'non-medical' physical contact, dating a patient, accepting gifts from a patient, and treating partners, family-members and friends) require more attention to facilitate the reverification of the impermissibility of a sexual relationship with a patient. The need for such reverification is underlined by the expected changes in the balance between engagement and detachment in the doctor-patient relationship due to the influences on medical practice of technology, protocols and the discontinuity of personal care.