Ethics

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

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