Health information technology, like prior technological advances in medicine, can improve patient care and enhance the patient-physician relationship if used properly and thoughtfully.

Physicians should be aware of the influence that their observable health and lifestyle habits have on patients.

Kevin Hosseini’s painting of his tutor’s dog, Bella.

A philosophical analysis of how physician actions and treatment goals are defined and interpreted and how understanding this process can affect the success of the clinical encounter.

Plastic surgeons who use patient images for online advertising should ensure informed consent and not exploit the patient-physician relationship for gain.

Physician's view of what society expects of physicians and what physicians expect from society. Society demands accessible, quality care. Physicians want balanced lives.

Overlapping surgeries are ethical provided the attending physician discloses the role of the trainee and oversees critical portions of the surgeries.

A response to a March 2007 Virtual Mentor clinical pearl about the diagnoses made on the television show House.

Shackling incarcerated surgery patients is unnecessary for safety and undermines patients’ trust.

Readers are referred to a chapter of a book and then asked to consider the importance of empathy in the patient-physician relationship.