Ethics

The Pursuit of Perfection in Medicine Carries a High Price Tag

The nature of healthcare, where patient lives and outcomes are directly impacted by a medical professional’s actions, inherently demands a high level of precision and excellence. This environment can cultivate a mind-set in which anything less than perfection might be seen as a failure with severe consequences, amplifying the pressure to achieve and maintain extremely high standards. This quest for excellence can exact a heavy toll on doctor health and well-being.

Modern Medicine – Issue 2, 2025

A Prescription with a Difference: Gratitude

Gratitude is a powerful human emotion. It is derived from the Latin word gratia, meaning gratefulness or thankfulness. In its simplest form, gratitude refers to a ‘state of thankfulness’ or a ‘state of being grateful. Gratitude is quite difficult to define. It is an emotion, attitude, moral virtue, habit, personality trait and coping response. Gratitude creates positive feelings that have been linked to greater resilience and well-being and has been used therapeutically for treating anxiety and depression.

Modern Medicine – Issue 1, 2025

The Healing Power of Relationships

Human beings are designed to connect and build relationships. These connections can have a profound impact on the health and well-being of those involved. The doctor–patient relationship is an important driver of clinical outcomes – both in promoting desired results and in preventing adverse outcomes. Research in psychotherapy reveals that the nature of the therapist–client relationship accounts for approximately 45% of therapy’s effectiveness.

Modern Medicine – Issue 6 2024.

The Impact of Fragmented Care on Healthcare

Healthcare globally is characterised by increasing fragmentation, with many patients seeing multiple physicians. In the US, 35% of Medicare beneficiaries saw five or more physicians in 2019.1 Having multiple physicians may be appropriate, but it may also lead to medical errors, unnecessary visits, avoidable hospitalisations and suboptimal care if all of the physicians do not have complete information about the patient and each other’s care plans.

Modern Medicine – Issue 5 2024.

Not Knowing Your Implicit Biases Compromises Patient Care

A patient should not expect to receive a lower standard of care because of their race, age or any other irrelevant characteristic. Despite this, implicit associations (unconscious, uncontrollable, or arational processes) may influence physician judgements resulting in bias that may compromise patient care.

Modern Medicine – Issue 4 2024

The Incongruence of the Hidden Culture of Medicine

The past decade has been a time of great change for Western doctors. Many doctors feel that the care delivery system has become a barrier to providing high-quality care rather than facilitating it. Although doctor distress and some of the contributing factors are now widely recognised, much of the distress doctors are experiencing is related to insidious issues affecting the cultures of the profession,healthcare organisations and the healthcare delivery system. This is a shortened version of the original article.

Modern Medicine – Issue 3 2024

Negotiating the Minefield of Power Relations in Medicine

“Knowledge is power. The real test of knowledge is not whether it is true but whether it empowers us. Scientists usually assume that no theory is 100% correct. Truth, consequently, is a poor test for knowledge. The real test is utility. A theory that enables us to do new things constitutes knowledge.”― Francis Bacon, Neues Organon, Volume 11.

Modern Medicine – Issue 2 2024

Is Aging a Disease or a Lifestyle Issue?

Although most still seem to consider aging not to be a disease, others have started to question this position. Some have argued that aging should be considered a disease, a syndrome or a ‘disease complex’. While many aging researchers have openly declared that the universality of the aging process means it is not a disease, aging fits the given medical definition of a disease. But just because it fits the definition, that definition may not be the most helpful to us.

Modern Medicine – Issue 1 2024

The Underappreciated Power of Intellectual Humility in Medicine

Intellectual humility involves recognising that there are gaps in one’s knowledge and that one’s current beliefs might be incorrect. Intellectual humility is not mere lack of confidence in one’s understanding of the world. Rather, it is the recognition that one’s understanding could be limited or wrong due to of a lack of expertise in a particular area or lack of access to relevant, accurate or complete information on the topic.

Modern Medicine – Issue 6 2023

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