Boundary Erosion

A progressive weakening or gradual loss of clear professional role distinctions and limits that increases the likelihood of inappropriate clinician–patient interactions, role conflicts, dual relationships, or compromises to therapeutic purpose and patient safety.

The gradual weakening, dissolution, or blurring of formal distinctions between institutional domains, policy areas, or organizational roles, resulting in less clear lines of responsibility, overlapping competencies, and increased need for coordination across previously separate boundaries.