Introduction

Chapter 1 explains how we shed light on the concept of exploitation in this book, bringing to the fore what is often left to operate in the background as a significant factor underpinning ethical opposition to certain practices, and exploring what the ethical and legal responses to such wrongful behaviour are, and should be. In the context of the doctor-patient relationship, we set out our key themes: the question of what makes exploitation wrongful; the connection between exploitation and vulnerability; exploitation in the doctor-patient relationship as a special case; and undue influence and the doctor as fiduciary.