Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why technology should never takeover the patient encounter

Neil Baum, MD
Patient
August 25, 2011
Share
Tweet
Share

Today, healthcare is criticized by the public as too high on technology and too low in touch.  Computers take patients histories, provide differential diagnoses, and even supply educational materials to patients. A new specialty, tele-medicine, offers healthcare services to rural areas that were previously underserved or couldn’t afford the latest diagnostic technology.

A humorous story about technology occurred when a patient’s secretary called to say that her boss was too busy to come in for an appointment. However, the secretary would fax the doctor a list of her boss’s symptoms and asked if the doctor could just call in a prescription. Of course, that’s the extreme of high tech and no touch.

Let me relate a very moving experience I had with a patient who was having difficulty with urination associated with chronic low back pain. I asked if his urinary problem was improving and inquired about his back pain.

“Dr. Baum,” he said, “I have had a terrible 3 days, with such severe pain and discomfort in my back that I almost took out my pistol and ended it all.”

I completed my exam and stepped out of the room to alert the patient’s primary care physician of my findings. I was told that my patient was currently seening a psychiatrist and that his primary care physician would make sure that the psychiatrist was aware of the patient’s depression and suicidal comments. Then I asked the patient to accompany me to the reception area where I gathered my staff and the patient next to a prominently posted sign that says, “if you are feeling less than a B+, please let us know and we will give you a hug.” I whispered to my staff members that the patient needed a hug. When we hugged him, the patient’s had tears in his eyes because I believe we showed real concern for him and his well-being, which included his mental health as well as his urinary stream.

Later that day, my staff members wrote to the patient and expressing their concerns and saying that they look forward to seeing him at his next appointment. When the patient returned to my office several weeks later, he said that he had found my staff’s hugs were far more effective and far more encouraging than his psychotherapy sessions and the three  antidepressant medications.

This patient encounter remains one of the highlights of my medical career. The patient clearly demonstrates the power of high touch and that as long as physicians are willing to use high touch, they will never be replaced by high tech.

Neil Baum is a urologist at Touro Infirmary and author of Marketing Your Clinical Practices: Ethically, Effectively, Economically. He can be reached at his self-titled site, Neil Baum, MD, or on Facebook and Twitter.

Prev

Patient advocacy groups should help support research

August 25, 2011 Kevin 2
…
Next

Implementing the Affordable Care Act will increase physician tension

August 25, 2011 Kevin 3
…

Tagged as: Health IT, Patients

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Patient advocacy groups should help support research
Next Post >
Implementing the Affordable Care Act will increase physician tension

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Neil Baum, MD

  • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

    Neil Baum, MD
  • The hidden chains holding doctors back

    Neil Baum, MD
  • Boost patient satisfaction with the power of fragrance

    Neil Baum, MD

More in Patient

  • AI’s role in streamlining colorectal cancer screening [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • There’s no one to drive your patient home

    Denise Reich
  • Dying is a selfish business

    Nancie Wiseman Attwater
  • A story of a good death

    Carol Ewig
  • We are warriors: doctors and patients

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Patient care is not a spectator sport

    Jim Sholler
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions
    • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

      Emma Fenske, DO | Physician
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Addressing the physician shortage: How AI can help, not replace

      Amelia Mercado | Tech
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

      Emma Fenske, DO | Physician
    • How home-based AI can reduce health inequities in underserved communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

      Nicole M. King, MD | Physician
    • What if medicine had an exit interview?

      Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C | Conditions
    • Why U.S. health care pricing is so confusing—and how to fix it

      Ashish Mandavia, MD | Physician
    • From survival to sovereignty: What 35 years in the ER taught me about identity, mortality, and redemption

      Kenneth Ro, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 2 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions
    • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

      Emma Fenske, DO | Physician
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Addressing the physician shortage: How AI can help, not replace

      Amelia Mercado | Tech
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • Why women doctors are still mistaken for nurses

      Emma Fenske, DO | Physician
    • How home-based AI can reduce health inequities in underserved communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

      Nicole M. King, MD | Physician
    • What if medicine had an exit interview?

      Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C | Conditions
    • Why U.S. health care pricing is so confusing—and how to fix it

      Ashish Mandavia, MD | Physician
    • From survival to sovereignty: What 35 years in the ER taught me about identity, mortality, and redemption

      Kenneth Ro, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Why technology should never takeover the patient encounter
2 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...