The doctor-patient relationship has had many different definitions through the years. In the beginning years of modern medicine, the doctor-patient relationship was known as “common calling”, which meant that physicians practiced medicine as a duty to their patients and to society. Laws were developed in order to keep patients safe; therefore, ensuring that doctors practiced medicine to the best of their capability. In recent years, medical malpractice has increased dramatically. Now in today’s society, a doctor’s duty is to use reasonable care, judgement, and skill in his/her profession and when negligent, take full responsibility. In other cases, medical malpractice has been used against doctors by patients in order to sue and gain large amounts of money. In a well developed essay defend, challenge, or qualify whether medical malpractice is a serious issue at hand and whether it can have an impact on the medical field.

Malpractice at its core is negligence and negligence is a tort; therefore, malpractice is a civil wrong. This is a detrimental issue within our society because it affects every person and in reality our health is the most important thing we have to maintain. Every health care provider assumes a duty when starting consultations, diagnosis, or treatment of a patient. This duty can be expressed in concrete form, such as a contract, given to the health care provider at the beginning of his/her position as a physician or an implied ethical duty to carry out medical processes with reasonable care and skill. If the doctor fails to provide the patient with appropriate diagnosis they have made a violation of their duty; as a result, a violation of a doctors duty ultimately causes damage to the patient. The result of damage to the patient will reside in an ultimate breach in the doctors duty to provide adequate care, thus neglecting the patient