Six attitudes to promote personal, patient-centred care in an era of addictive technology.

Abstract

In contrast with the rapid advances in medical knowledge and technology, the clinical encounter may often appear as perfunctory, impersonal, and unworthy to both patient and practitioner who is often immersed in the computer screen rather than the patient, stressed by improbable time constraints, and often finds deceptive relief in inappropriate test-ordering, prescriptions, and referrals. We suggest routinely adopting six attitudes to achieve a more balanced, personal, and patient-centred encounter: conducting a curiosity-driven encounter; emphasizing humanistic values; performing a complete physical examination; increasing patients' face time; addressing the patient's health as a whole; and rational test-ordering and judicious prescribing.