Why Patient Voices Are Important

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out the collection of articles in the March issue and our new blog content for more on the patient voice in medicine. I used to live on a short dirt road where everyone knew everyone else. We recognized each others’ children and would often share childcare responsibilities. A part of our extended neighborhood family for me included occasional medical consultations. I would hear about a neighbor’s call to his doctor to be seen for a cough and fever and the appointment that could not be scheduled for a week. I would bring my stethoscope over to the neighbor’s house to see if he really could wait for a week. And when it became clear that the fever and cough were most likely from pneumonia, I would either order antibiotics or send the neighbor to an urgent care center or emergency department. I would hear about good, bad, and strange encounters with the medical system–odd advice over the telephone, long appointment delays, doctors who did not communicate with each other. Over time it seemed that every one of my neighbors had encountered the medical system in one way or another. One had a fall from a roof, another a basketball injury, a third had a case of hepatitis, a fourth cardiac arrest requiring CPR. Then there were the less serious but more chronic problems–back pain, headaches, allergic rhinitis, rashes, and mental illness. While my physician skills were valuable in helping my neighbors sort out information that was often ...
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Featured From the Editor listening to patients patient centered care patient voice physician-patient relationship Source Type: blogs