I had the pleasure of attending the ABIM Foundation Forum this summer in beautiful Vermont. For several days, I was surrounded by people deeply committed to thinking differently about American health care. We listened, debated, and wrestled with some of the most difficult problems facing our profession and our health care system. I left inspired,… Read more »
Blog Category: Trust
Empathy: The Heart of Trust
“This is all very true,” one patient’s wife said as Dr. Marlise Pierre-Wright gathered her research materials. “A person’s history of trauma does affect their health.” She smiled gently and added, almost as an afterthought, “You know – he went through something very difficult when he was 21.” “My dad was murdered on the… Read more »
Bridges, Not Walls: Building Trust Through Advocacy Training
A patient arrives for a follow-up appointment, but managing their diabetes isn’t the biggest challenge. They don’t know where they’re going to sleep next week. Another patient skips their needed medications because they have to choose between prescriptions and groceries. For physicians and trainees, these situations raise an important question: What role should clinicians play… Read more »
Acquiring Knowledge, Building Trust: Lessons from Resident Training in Population Health
“Your test results show that you have Type 2 diabetes,” John said gently to his patient, Ana. “I’d like to start you on a daily medication – to be taken with a meal – to help manage it.” “I don’t have insurance,” Ana said quietly. John paused. His population health training had educated him for… Read more »
Listening in an Age of Abundance
By the time I met her, she had lived with diarrhea for nearly six months. She was 59, a health care worker, and had been hospitalized several times since symptoms began shortly after a left heart catheterization. Each visit added testing and imaging, yet no answers followed. When we entered her room, she told her… Read more »