Between focusing on being profitable and viewing patients through a population-based model, many young physicians are sacrificing patient-centered care, according to a recent blog post authored by Michael Wasserman, MD, a geriatrician and cofounder of Senior Care of Colorado.
Dr. Wasserman has spent considerable time the last few teaching first- and second-year medical students and has found that these physicians-in-training (and even young colleagues) are concentrating more on a patient's diagnosis, treatment and cure than on the patients themselves.
"They are also focused on getting paid. There appears to be a limited amount of time in the doctor-patient interaction. There is a strong feeling that there isn't time for things that are 'less' important," wrote Dr. Wasserman.
He also cited a book that suggests many physicians are inept at understanding the context within which their patients live.
"Why is this important? Because if we truly want to practice person-centered care, we must know who the person is," he wrote. "This is such an obvious and profound concept, it is remarkable how little attention it gets when approaching the education of young physicians."
Time and money aren't the only factors that may be pushing physician away from patient-centered care; Dr. Wasserman is also concerned about the effect population health efforts will have on care quality.
"While I understand the value of approaching problems from a broader population-based model, I struggle with what will happen to the concept of person-centered care in a population health-based world," Dr. Wasserman wrote. "Will we fall further away from our already lackluster ability to know our patients as human beings?"
To keep this from happening, he suggested physicians take a step back and make a concerted effort to really get to know the individuals for whom they are providing care.
More articles on patient-centered care:
Care beyond the bedside: A patient-centered approach
Physicians cautiously optimistic about new payment models
Cleveland Clinic study shows communication skills training improves patient satisfaction