The human encounter, attention, and equality: the value of doctor–patient contact

INTRODUCTION

Many choices in health care today are made from an organisation-oriented perspective, with considerations of efficiency playing a dominant role. These choices often clash with values such as patient-centredness and continuity of care. Creating more uniformity in care through protocols can hinder doctors in providing personalised care. A choice for task delegation, often necessary in highly pressured healthcare environments, carries with it the risk of putting pressure on the continuity of care. A choice for effective, efficient, and product-oriented care results in not only keeping costs under control but can also lead to increased bureaucracy and less room for teamwork. Important human values that strongly connect with the patient’s perspective are in danger of succumbing to the pressures of efficiency. Patients, after all, express a clear preference for personal attention and a doctor–patient relationship based on trust, with a doctor they know.¹ This enables them to share their symptoms, knowledge, emotions, and personal expectations more openly,² and it makes them feel more involved with the consultation, which in turn leads to greater therapy adherence. For most physicians, the wish to be of importance to their patients is their primary motivation for being a doctor. However, choices in current health care tend to cause more stress, less satisfaction, and a decrease in empathic behaviour in doctors.³

This article aims to explore the essential value of person-oriented doctor–patient contact, using the theoretical principles of three philosophers.