The authors deserve applause for bringing up a practical and important deficiency in current medical practice. The incidents narrated by Aggarwal et al appear to follow poor inter-personal relationships between the various clinicians, the need for one or more of them to dominate over others, and sheer cussedness. They may also be the consequence of overwork with little opportunity to relax and shed exhaustion. Whatever the reasons, the patient suffers as a consequence and may worsen or even die, as doctors war over turf or massage their egos.