Patient - Physician Relationship

An important difference between the physician-patient relationship in the U.S.A. compared to that in Japan, is that the physician is legally and morally obligated to serve the needs of the patient. The physician is responsible for the entirety of the medical care administered to the patient. Typically, the physician in Japan relinquishes the care of the patient to a staff of a hospital physician team when he is hospitalized; in the U.S.A., the physician follows the patient before, during, and after any hospitalization.

The physician-patient relationship is also a clearly recognized legal entity, the sanctity of which can not be breached without the specific permission of the patient. As such, physicians can not reveal any specific aspects of the medical care rendered to a patient to any third party --- especially if this party is not the legal guardian or does not have the power of attorney --- without the specific documented permission from the patient. Absent this permission, only a court order could supervene; and there is some question about legality of even this.