This document focuses on the scientific evidence presently available on the patient–doctor relationship. As the patient seeks care, the physician represents only one of many relationships that the patient forms, and relationships with physicians and other professional caregivers have a mutual influence on each other. This critical, systematic review is based on approximately 800 studies that were selected according to predetermined quality criteria. Most of the studies were performed in the United States, but several are from Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Sweden. Most studies involve patients treated in ambulatory care settings.