The role of technology and information in healthcare today is greater than ever before, and their usefulness is undeniable. But, in the process, are we losing touch with human values in patient-doctor relationships?
We go to bed every night trusting that the sun will rise the next morning.
We go about our days trusting our bodies to keep us alive and breathing.
We form personal and professional partnerships, trusting our partners will walk steadily with us.
Trust is vital to human connections.
Much of life will come to a halt if there is no trust.
Trust is also a crucial component of the patient-doctor dynamic.
Treatment can be meted out even in the absence of trust. Medicines will work just fine, surgeries will be successful and bodies will heal.
What about the mind and heart, though?
Would they also be at peace? Or would an inability to trust the process of healing or the people involved invite stress and discontent?
Trust is to the patient-doctor partnership what warmth is to a bowl of soup. It is not hard to drink cold soup, but warmth certainly makes it much more satisfying.
Trust may be harder to come by during these times, where medical information is available at the click of a button and misinformation is rampant.
It is more important than ever before to use discernment, so the flame of trust is not washed out by the waves of information crashing against the shore of our intellects.
I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to all patients who continue to place their trust in medicine and in healthcare providers.
Your trust in us inspires us and keeps us going!