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Rethinking Rural Health Ethics pp 95–117Cite as

The Value of Relationships

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Part of the book series: International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine ((LIME,volume 72))

Abstract

We argue in this chapter for a re-valuing of relationships. While it has long been recognised that a relationship lies at the heart of the health provider-patient interaction, latterly changes in the way in which health services are provided may have shifted the focus from the relational aspects of the interaction to the transactional and instrumental. We argue that the nature and quality of the relationship between a health provider and a patient may be particularly important and central to the provision of rural health services because of the interrelatedness and corresponding intensity of relationships that often characterises rural settings. We focus in the second half of the chapter on the issue of dual and multiple relationships which are almost inevitable when health providers are based in rural communities but which urban-centric ethical frameworks generally suggest should be avoided. We argue that the nature and quality of relationships in health care practice in general and in relation to dual and multiple relationships in particular need to be re-valued.

Urban doctors take care of patients. Rural patients take care of their doctors. Urban patients know their doctors. Rural doctors know their patients (Robert Bowman, M.D.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioethics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Christy Simpson & Fiona McDonald

  2. Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Christy Simpson & Fiona McDonald

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  1. Christy Simpson
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  2. Fiona McDonald
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Simpson, C., McDonald, F. (2017). The Value of Relationships. In: Rethinking Rural Health Ethics. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 72. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60811-2_7

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