Doctors view the best relationship with patients in highly personal and idealistic terms, admitting through discussion of their own experiences that sustained interpersonal relationships with many patients are difficult to establish. For doctors, interpersonal trust with their patients looms as the central feature of strong, effective relationships. The ability to relate to patients on deeper psychological and emotional levels was the key focus for them in their work. They also cited other roles, such as friend and expert advisor, as important in gaining patient trust. Doctors’ views and their best patient relationship experiences emphasized the benefits of dyadic care delivery, even as the notion of the relational dyad finds less support within health care, given over instead to higher volume, transactionally oriented care relationships between organizations and patients.