Case Study 8 : PERSONALIZING HEALTH CARE
Challenges
A health care professional working at a hospital notices a colleague frequently treats their patients in an impersonal manner. He politely calls his attention regarding this.
Question
Why should health care be personalized?
Solutions
Depersonalization of health care arises as one negative consequence of specialization in the medical and allied professions. At times, patients appear no longer as human beings, but simply as a collection of organs to heal or cases to study. Such an attitude overlooks the original meaning of healing: “to make whole”.
Medical problems remain deeply personal, as they ultimately concern matters of life and death. One’s attitudes could be greatly modified (for better or for worse) by one’s medical condition. Illnesses affect the patient’s physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual well being.
Personalizing health care involves an awareness that patients function not as passive recipients of medical procedures, but as individuals assisted in freeing themselves from certain debilitating conditions. That is, health care tries to empower the patient rather than cause or tolerate dependency.
The patient greatly benefits from a personalized medical care. Health care practitioners cannot concern themselves only with the scientific aspects of their specialization, but should also see to it that the patient’s general well-being (including other needs, rights, privileges, etc.) receives attention as much as possible.
Personalizing health care proves likewise advantageous for the institution itself and its personnel. A satisfied public will support the health care giver, while an unsatisfied one could create strain in terms of relationships, publicity and finances. Studies show that many lawsuits arise not only from objective complaints about medical effectiveness, but also on subjective dissatisfaction with the physician’s attitude towards the patients.
