Two-Dimensional Medicine: The Crisis of Physician Passiveness

A Cutting Critique of Outdated Arrogance That Sidelines Patient Engagement, Continuity of Care, and Holistic Care Amid Healthcare Reform Challenges

Published in Integrated Healthcare

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Imagine walking into a doctor’s office, feeling vulnerable and seeking help, only to be met with a cold, clinical gaze. The physician focuses primarily on their screen as they fail to show awareness of your arrival. The medical environment of today shows this situation occurring frequently.

Modern medical technologies reduce patients to clinical data with emphasis on their symptoms. Modern medicine uses a two-dimensional method which fails to capture the complete human health experience thus facilitating mental, social and psychological and physical aspects of wellness to interact together.

Through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health care welcomed two sets of reforms that would elevate patient engagement alongside comprehensive treatment strategies. Through the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) organizations enforce patient perspectives as crucial elements for healthcare choice determination. However, a deeply rooted culture within the medical sector demonstrates resistance against system transformations that remain committed to physician-authority based practices.

The current yet outdated state of mind results in the collapse of continuity of carebetween patients and their healthcare providers. The healthcare system suffers from poor coordination between different providers because patients frequently meet multiple doctors. According to studies, patient care that incorporated one provider relationship or collaborative ecosystem amongst number of providers resulted in better health outcomes and enhanced care satisfaction. Modern healthcare practice often powered by efficiency measurement and limited appointment duration prevents the edifice of essential doctor-patient relationships.

Cultural competence is also lacking. Medical practitioners frequently ignore their patients’ cultural backgrounds which creates misinterpretations that deteriorate their care quality. Providing healthcare that is equitable requires healthcare providers to invest in education about cultural competence.

Doctors must challenge their superior attitudes before the situation improves. Medical practitioners need to show humbleness when they understand their patients possess more expertise about their personal experiences. The standard of operation should shift toward shared decision-making interactions between providers and patients to develop treatment plans.

Healthcare reform exists beyond medical policy adjustments since it requires cultural change at the core. The healthcare system must shift its current approach of treating patients as uninvolved recipients so it can enable their involvement in their care.

The current healthcare system presents two major weaknesses through doctor passivity and superficial two-dimensional care which prevents patients from getting proper care. The healthcare system will become more ultimate and caring through active patient participation alongside continuous care approaches and complete treatment evaluations and cultural-sensitive services.

Citations:

1. Health Affairs. “Patient Engagement.” February 14, 2013.

2. National Academy of Medicine. “Patient and Family Engaged Care: An Essential Element of Health Equity.”

3. PubMed Central. “Continuity of Care: Key to Improving Patient Outcomes and Healthcare Efficiency.”

4. Wikipedia. “Cultural competence in healthcare.”

5. Wikipedia. “Shared decision-making in medicine.”

6. Wikipedia. “Affordable Care Act.”