Compassion is top priority for doctor-patient relations
Publication Name: Pensacola News Journal
Published Date: 12/07/2006
Doctors should be seen as "expert medical coaches," who are there to provide care and help patients with their health concerns, Stephen Beeson, a physician and author said Wednesday.
"It's about creating a collaboration and coaching as opposed to demanding things," Beeson said.
He was in Pensacola on Wednesday to make a presentation to the medical staff at Sacred Heart Health System. About 100 doctors attended the session. Beeson stressed, prior to his presentation, how important it was for a physician to have compassion. "It's difficult to be great without being compassionate," he said. Beeson offers the following tips for better patient/doctor relationships:
- Doctors should know their patients, including their occupations, families and their personalities.
- A patient should come for a doctor's visit with a written agenda that includes several topics or issues to be discussed that the doctor sees before the visit.
- A doctor should never belittle a patient's concerns, regardless of how trivial it may seem to the doctor.
In dealing with most pediatric patients, Beeson said he prefers to talk directly with a child, with the parent in the room.
He then asks the child if it's OK to talk to the parent. Beeson, a family practice doctor in San Diego, Calif., is the author of the newly released book "Practicing Excellence: A Physician's Manual to Exceptional Health Care."
He works with the Gulf Breeze-based Studer Group as a medical adviser and speaker.
"The presentation fits in perfectly with our ongoing initiatives to develop clinical excellence at Sacred Heart," said Dr. Michael Brown, senior vice president of Medical Affairs at Sacred Heart Hospital.
"We hope this session enhances the relationships between our physicians, our hospital staff and our patients."
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