Did you know that when we feel understood by our doctor we do get
better faster? In fact, the relationship between the doctor and the
patient can stimulate...or hinder the efficacy of the treatment.
Research has shown that people, who feel cared for with attention, not
only reported a higher satisfaction, but also better results with their
care. Let's discover why the exchange between the physician and the
patient is so important, and why we should seek a doctor who is ready to
listen to us.
An interaction between 2 persons
When
a patient meets a doctor, he meets another human being who is going to
convey a general impression, which will affect the patient and his
condition. That interaction was, up to the 18th century, the essential
component of the medical care. In an article on the history of medicine,
Ivan Illich (1) notes that the 'ars medendi' (medical art) was mainly
verbal. The doctor not only listened with attention, he adapted his
voice inflexion and the choice of his words to the patient. He used an
elaborate body language to express his understanding of the patient's
condition. That mimetic diagnosis was considered as having a major
therapeutic function. Today, neuroscience helps us better understand how
the doctor/patient relationship affects the physiology of the patient.
Let's take a closer look at a significant discovery in neurophysiology:
Mirror neurons
Mirror neurons: we neurologically mimic what others do
Mirror
Neurons were discovered in 1995 by an Italian team of researchers in
psycho-neurology. The discovery happened, as major discoveries often do,
by chance. They were studying the brain function of a monkey. During
their lunchtime, as they started to eat a pizza, they noticed that the
scanner to which the monkey was hooked started to ring. The animal was
nonetheless seating quietly looking at the researchers who were eating.
As Professor Giacomo Rizzolatti, the lead researcher, looked closer at
the scanner, he noticed that the monkey, when he saw the men reaching
for the pizza, was firing the same neurons he would have to move his
right arm. That initial discovery was further studied over the following
decade, and major research centre like the Center for Brain and Cognition
at the University of California, confirmed the mimetic function of
neurons. What they found was that whenever we would look at another
person act, we would fire the same neurons in our brain as the ones used
by the other person's brain. And the more similarities we would have
with that person the more mirror neurons would fire. That understanding
of human neurology explains how children can assimilate their cultural
environment. It is through their nervous system's natural ability to
reproduce the acts of their parents. Now, if we look at the
doctor/patient relationship through this new perspective, we will better
understand how the feelings of the doctor can affect the body of the
patient. Let's take a closer look at the concept of empathy and its
effect on health.
Empathy: I know and feel what you are going through
A
patient comes in the doctor's office. The doctor welcomes him warmly
and listens to his condition with attention. The patient feels
understood and he feels a sense of proximity with the doctor. The
neurons mirrors are now in a condition to be activated. After the doctor
has understood the patient's situation, he poses his diagnosis and
shares the best way to manage it. He does it in a confident and calm
way. The serenity the doctor conveys, will immediately be mirrored by
the patient who would feel reassured about his condition. That shift in
the patient's perspective on his condition will drastically help the
healing process. A study published in the Journal of General Internal
Medicine (2), and involving 100 primary care physicians and 4,746
patients revealed that when the physician expressed empathy it was
associated with higher patient ratings of interpersonal aspects of care
(satisfaction) and a stronger sense of reassurance. Knowing that the
faith a patient puts into his treatment does play a major role in its
efficacy; we now better understand the importance of finding a doctor
that emanates confidence and empathy.
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