Ethics

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

Increased Empathy Means Better Care

Empathy plays a critical interpersonal and societal role, enabling sharing of experiences, needs and desires between individuals and providing an emotional bridge that promotes prosocial behaviour. This capacity requires an exquisite interplay of neural networks and enables us to perceive the emotions of others, resonate with them emotionally and cognitively, to take in the perspective of others, and to distinguish between our own and others’ emotions.

Modern Medicine – Issue 5 2021

Weight is a Stigma and a Barrier to Care

High rates of obesity around the world have garnered sustained attention and efforts from medical, public health, and scientific communities. Simultaneously , scholars across diverse social science disciplines have studied the pervasive societal stigma faced by individuals with higher body weight. Known as weight stigma, individuals with higher weight face numerous negative stereotypes, prejudice, and unfair treatment across multiple facets of everyday life including healthcare.

Modern Medicine – Issue 4 2021

Unpacking the Mind-body Connection to Health

“According to the mind–body or biopsychosocial paradigm, which supersedes the older biomedical model, there is no real division between mind and body because of networks of communication that exist between the brain and neurological, endocrine and immune systems.” – Oakley Ray, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University, USA.

Modern Medicine – Issue 3 2021

Commoditisation in Healthcare-Threat or Opportunity?

That commoditisation of healthcare is occurring is well documented. Specialist centres now bundle services into diseaseor treatment-based products (eg, pain, cancer, fertility, easier surgery). Such ‘commodities’ are widely advertised and promoted to both public and primary care doctors. While the occurrence of commoditisation in healthcare is irrefutable, its desirability is an area of intense and diverse opinion.

Modern Medicine – Issue 2 2021

Music is Medicine for the Body

Researchers are exploring how music therapy can improve health outcomes among a variety of patient populations. Recent medical studies seem to confirm what the ancient Greeks believed; music seems to slow heart rate, lower blood pressure, and reduce levels of stress hormones. It can also provide some relief to heart attack and stroke victims and patients undergoing surgery.

Modern Medicine – Issue 1 2021