Patients are people too. This may seem like an odd statement or one that need not be uttered. “Of course patients are people,” you may think. “How can you lose sight of that?” For most of my medical career and training, my knee-jerk response used to be something like this until I honestly assessed my relationship with and perspective on patients. In actuality, I did not relate to patients as people most of the time — barely as human beings even. As a student and resident, patients were tools for my education and the physical manifestation of concepts I read about in textbooks and heard about in lectures. I trust many of you remember as a student or intern being called over to an exam room or hospital bed by an attending physician or senior resident to observe an interesting or rare clinical finding. In fact, many of you in academic settings may be regularly practicing this with students and/or residents. I agree that it is a critical part of medical training, however, how often do you see it from the perspective of the patient? What if you pictured a family member or dear friend in their shoes or reminded yourself that they are someone’s family member and/or dear friend? Does it change your view? It certainly did and continues to do so for me. In traditional clinical settings, I classified patients by their appointment time (“My 10 o’clock on Wednesday”) or their ailment (“The appy in Bed 2”). Thankfully, I am now aware that this disconnect prevents the formation of the patient-doctor partnership, which patients yearn for and is lacking. The modernization of health care has introduced a gift/curse that impedes this endeavor — technology. Technological distractions Thanks to technology, we now have the ability to retrieve and review a patient’s complete medical history during their visit. We also have the ability to interact and assess patients virtually anywhere and anytime with telemedicine. These tools and abilities are great additions to our armamentarium; however, I don’t believe they should become the main focus. I have fallen into the trap of interacting more with the computer screen than the patient in the room with me during an exam. Telemedicine allows us to provide care for individuals in rural areas that may not be accessible otherwise or at hours that may be inconvenient for an office visit; however, should it be the basis of a practice solely in the name of convenience? Technological advances are driving a wedge between people in our society. They’re also fueling an overarching desire for comfort and accommodation. The implications of both have been detrimental to healthcare. Doctors built medicine on a foundation of basic human interactions. There is nothing more intimate than examining or manipulating parts of the body or a person’s anatomy as a whole. Doing this should be viewed as a privilege rather than a right bestowed upon us by our title and profession. Without a patient-doctor relationship, this can and should be seen as a violation of privacy. As significantly helpful as computers in their varying forms can be and have been, they will never replicate or enhance the connection achieved between persons working for a common goal. As important and vital as our education, training, practice and convenience may be, it should never be pursued or exalted at the expense of the humanity of our patients. The general public looks to us for care to regain and/or refine aspects of health consistent with human nature. Out of respect, we should make sure to welcome them and interact with them consistently and fully as fellow members of the human race. Emeka Onyedika, MD, is a physician evaluator conducting in-home health evaluations. Source
