Ethics

Patient Health is More than Just Medical Care and Lifestyle Coaching

There is strong evidence from around the globe that people who are poor and less educated have more health problems and die earlier than those who are richer and more educated, and these disparities exist even in wealthy countries. To make an impact on improving health equity and providing more patient centred care, it is necessary to better understand and address the underlying causes of poor health. Yet doctors often feel helpless and frustrated when faced with the complex and intertwined health and social challenges of their patients. Many avoid asking about social issues, preferring to focus on medical treatment and lifestyle counselling.

Modern Medicine – Issue 5 2023

Stressed Patients Need a Different Doctor Tool Set

Research shows that up to 70% of patients who visit their primary care provider do so because of mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, stress and burnout. Patients with psychological or social problems make heavy demands on the general practitioner’s workload. They contact their practice almost twice as often compared to patients with only somatic problems and they receive more diagnoses, with a greater variety of problems.

Modern Medicine – Issue 2 2023

The Clinical Challenge of Medically Unexplained Symptoms

Many patients consult their general practitioner (GP) because they experience bodily symptoms. Western medicine prioritises the assessment of symptoms to diagnose disease, but symptoms are not exclusively signs of disease. Some symptoms represent ordinary bodily sensations causing minor concern, others arise or persist due to processes which are not necessarily related to underlying disease. When symptoms persist, but cannot be attributed to disease, they are commonly described as “medically unexplained symptoms”.

Modern Medicine – Issue 6 2022

Talking about Death Won’t Kill You

When it comes to having an open and honest conversation about someone’s prospects when they’re dying, most people, and their families, expect their doctor to get the ball rolling. But new research shows this isn’t always happening. Talking about death won’t make it happening. Of course, simply talking about death won’t cause it to happen – and not talking about it robs us of choices and moments that will not come again.

Modern Medicine – Issue 5 2022

Go Gentle into that Good Night: The Challenges of Discussing Death and Dying

Discussing death and dying is a crucial component of managing life-threatening diseases. Communication at the end-of-life is essential for good patient outcomes in terms of the quality of their care and bereavement outcomes for family and carers. Advanced care planning (ACP) is an important practical component of communication that supports patient autonomy and guides appropriate medical care at the end-of-life.

Modern Medicine – Issue 3 2022

Health is About Treating the Whole Patient Not Just the Disease

In 1948, the World Health Organization defined the concept of health as follows: “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO 2018). This definition suggests that the patient should be evaluated from a very broad perspective. However even today, it is still difficult to say that this is actually done, especially for the follow-up of chronic and complex illnesses.

Modern Medicine – Issue 2 2022

Patient Care Hampered by the Interprofessional Divide

A central aim of modern day healthcare is to deliver a high quality, patient-centred service that addresses the expectations of its service users. However, mounting research evidence highlights a lack of patient satisfaction across a range of healthcare settings, with an overwhelming proportion of complaints relating to interprofessional communication.

Modern Medicine – Issue 1 2022

Walking the Tightrope of Beneficial or Harmful Prescribing Practices

The Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm” has underpinned medicine since its origins; yet, much has been written about medical iatrogenesis and the damage that medicine can do in its attempts to prevent, manage and cure disease.

Modern Medicine – Issue 6 2021