What happened to patient-centered, compassionate medicine?

In the ongoing debate about health care reform, we often speak about access to health care, but there is another element to the debate that is equally important — what kind of care are you getting?

Health care is built upon the doctor/patient relationship, but that crucial relationship has changed drastically over the last decade. Without that fundamental building block, the practice of medicine suffers greatly.

What ever happened to patient-centered, compassionate medicine?

Voluminous paperwork and cold and impersonal front office gauntlets certainly contribute to overall patient dissatisfaction.

But what happens after you reach the doctor’s examining room? Do you maintain a good relationship with your physician, or have the visits themselves become rushed and impersonal? Are you getting the bum’s rush? Is your doctor favoring a relationship with his laptop over one with you? Did you walk away with questions unanswered? How satisfied are you with your doctor visits?

Patients often wait weeks or months for an appointment, then spend time cooling their heels in the waiting room. When they finally end up in the examining room, they expect — and deserve — the doctor’s complete attention and an adequate amount of time to have their concerns addressed.

On the flip side, doctors have the right to expect the full set of facts from their patients if they are to do their job completely and compassionately. The doctor/patient relationship is a two-way street, and both parties have much to gain by acting out of mutual respect.

Perhaps you are one of the fortunate ones who is satisfied with your doctor/patient relationship and, if so, we want to hear from you, too.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is working to advance humanism and compassion in medicine, and would like your input about doctor/patient relationships. It will only take a few minutes of your time to tell us about your relationship with your doctor.

Humans are complex beings, not mere body parts in need of repair. Together, we can help to shape the medical profession and ensure that we and our loved ones receive patient-centered, compassionate care.

Stand up for compassionate medicine!

Care2 Action Item: Take the Doctor/Patient Relationship Poll Now!

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Photo: U.S. National Institutes of Health

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Paul P.

3:48PM PST on Dec 2, 2009

If anybody is following this thread, note that the Texas Medical Association and the California Medical Associations, representing over 70,000 doctors have both come out against health reform.

send a green star

2:46AM PST on Dec 1, 2009

Thanks Michael S,

Agree on tort reform, left it out by accident. Congress will exempt themselves from the plan because they know that the coverage will not be as good as what they, and most others, currently have.

The rest will figure that out but not until the plan actually is implemented.....

Robert B.

7:57PM PST on Nov 30, 2009

My mother died from a tumor in her chest that was visible to anyone with eyes. She never said a word about it, so I did not know. Her doctor, who treated her for type 2 diabetes and in her last couple of years for parkinsons disease, never caught the tumorl. Her doctor never bothered to give her a thorough physical. At the age of 81, she was taken to the emergency room because I found her disoriented on the floor of her bedroom. That's when the EMTs saw the tumor and I saw it too. Any idiot could have guessed what it was. The doctor at the hospital confirmed and said there was nothing they could do. 3 days in hospital cost over $10,000. Then she was thankfully eligible for Hospice. Her medicaid paid for it. She was at hospice for about 2 weeks. The cost was way less than the hospital stay. At hospice they really took care of her with great compassion until her death. I think her doctor really failed her. She was just a routine to be dealt with and billed. She got minimum care, she was just a billable number on a conveyor belt. That's the kind of health care we have in this country. Medical care is "just business". But Hospice was great!

Debra T.

3:53PM PST on Nov 30, 2009

A non- American's perspective - whatever happened to compassionate health care? - you never had it. INSURANCE INSURANCE INSURANCE - that's all i hear - i agree with the insightful ones who realise there are other options that exist in other countries - government funded HEALTH CARE as a basic right - how can you think otherwise - it is not some commodity like a toy to be left to the market - its a BASIC RIGHT! By the way you Yanks spend more per capita on you stupid health care system yet have more sick and obese people because it is left to the private sector far too much it hasnt worked

Past Member .

9:31AM PST on Nov 30, 2009

We have federally funded Research Hospitals that are not allowed to turn anyone away or lose funding. They are the only ones in my state that takes medicaid dental for our children that need braces and more. However, that has come with a price of long waiting list and rules that medicaid will not challenge since it is a voluntary program that the doctors sign up for. Plus the research hospital is 5+ hours away from us and our public school is extremely against us taking our children out of school for medical problems that are that far away.

The only hospitals that are closer are private owned and have turned away many people from their doors for lack of insurance and ability to pay. We have lost new born babies in toilets due to this as well as people with diabetes have died because they were turned away. Many did not know they had cancer until the very end and left families behind. We really need change in this system. I know women who are unable to afford the sliding scale of $80 to have a pap smear done and later end up dying from cancer. Then the children are left without a mother, among a host of problems to over come due to the loss.

P H.

9:04AM PST on Nov 30, 2009

Until people realize that the insurance model has failed miserably in its attempt at delivering health care there will be no real reform. The model is the problem. An unregulated industry writing the policies, dictating treatment, what doctors can treat you, what medications are covered etc

Insurance is not health care and until we get serious and come up with a new model there will be no real reforms. In addition mandating that people must purchase insurance is certainly capitalism at its worst and is govt interference at the highest leve

Michael S.

7:54AM PST on Nov 30, 2009

Paul, I tip my hat to you and would only add tort reform.
Unfortunately you are right our elected officials will not release control of the dollar and will continue to create a larger government with a growing bureacracy. The reforms that you listed could lead to more affordable health care for everyone. On the other side you have people like Roger who responds by personalizing the issue so that it becomes a muddle with only government left to resolve it.

The issue other than the cost is quality and to this I ask why is it that our President & Congress will maintain via an amendment their present day health care while the rest of us will be under the new health care ????

Kelly A.

7:20AM PST on Nov 30, 2009

I do believe, the ER statute (Forgive me if I am wrong) turning away people has to do if the hospital is federally-State funded or a Private organization. My hometown hospital is private and has sent people to 'public' ER's.. They do not have to take everyone, but another hospital 20 min away has to..... I lived in an inner city area and ALL of the hospitals had to take everyone and you avoided at all costs having to go to any of them after Thursday afternoon.... The weekends were horrendous..... I didn't go to one (And I had insurance!) on a Friday for a back injury (Not serious luckily) because I would have never gotten out of there by Monday!

As for the healthcare insurance debate, I live in Germany now, and I do not have to worry with my public insurance... There is a co-pay per every three months and thats it! It includes dental insurance too! I don't have to wait, neither did a friend for two surgeries, my medications and my partners are affordable! And treatment begins with preventative care (I have a familial history of diabetes and cancer and there is no question when I ask for blood tests NOR is there more than the
10 euro per quarter cost!) And I am looking at having carpal tunnel surgery at some point, which will be covered with no problem, all I had to do was get a referal!

Affordable health care for everyone is NOT Socialism.... It is something that needs to be given freely so the whole economy and country is healthy and thriving!

3:04AM PST on Nov 30, 2009

Roger C, I've made these suggestions on other threads so if you haven't seen them, here they are:

1 - Most states have on their books a law that forbids groups forming for the purposes of getting insurance. This law helps corporations at the expense of individuals and should be repealed.

2-Repeal of that law would allow neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, etc., to ask insurance companies to bid for their business. Most cities are larger than the average business and suddenly regular folks would have access to group plans.

3 - At the Federal level, remove anti-trust exemption and end price fixing.

4 - At the Federal level, hold insurance companies to the same anti-discrimination laws as other companies. No body fluids or medical questionnaire. Industry would return to dependence on the law of large numbers. Basically, to survive they would need to greatly expand their client base.

5 - Get businesses out of the business of withholding insurance premiums for their employees. Whether it's business or government, when you are not involved in the decision, you are not in control of the price.

The problem is that neither Congress nor the States will do any of the above. They tend to avoid anything that lessens their control.

Heather A.

12:17AM PST on Nov 30, 2009

My family physician is attentive and compassionate. He has known me since I was born, and is practically a friend of the family. I live in Canada, and I therefore don't know much about what healthcare in the States is like, but I'll never understand how some of you can be opposed to free healthcare. Sure YOU may not need it, but there are thousands of people who desperately do. It's not their fault; having a chronic or terminal illness is enough to put all but the richest of people deeply in debt.

To answer the question in this article's title, I think it may be because more and more people want to be a doctor because it pays well than for any other reason.