[Limits of physician duties from the standpoint of a physician]

The occupational regulations in medicine list four professional duties. Their recognisable limits are not rigid, and in certain situations can (or even must) be crossed in both directions. The main demand concerns the carefulness (accuracy) of the doctor in practising his profession. This leads to formation of and compliance wiith medical standards. These emerge from the medical literature and from the recommendations of medical societies. Guidelines represent the elevated standard of the medical specialities. Deliberate exceptions to a standard rule require the informed consent of the patient, who can refuse thee treatment proposals. The physician can also refuse to treat a patient if he has well-founded reasons. However, he is obliged to provide emergency care and carry out acute measures. Borderline situations may arise in the field of medical information professional discretion, and documentation duty. The present paper illustrates and discusses some typical borderline situaticons.