(© Glow Images/Stock photo)
Highlighting the “care” in Health Care, this month two articles delved into the role of compassion, caring, and empathy – in short, love – in health care.
(1) Forget the Placebo Effect: It’s the ‘Care Effect’ That Matters
by Nathanael Johnson on Wired.com Jan. 18th.
Excerpts:
- …the “care effect” — the idea that the opportunity for patients to feel heard and cared for can improve their health.
- It was the empathetic exchange between practitioner and patient… that made the difference.
- Many patients who really need empathy and advice are instead given drugs and surgery.
(2) Understanding and Compassion: Essential Ingredients to Mental Health Reform
by Paul Heroux, State Rep. from Massachusetts, on HuffPost Politics Jan. 2nd.
Excerpts:
- …compassion and understanding are essential to reform and advocacy.
- …people afflicted with mental illness and people suffering from mental illness are people first.
- …we need to do our share… by not judging the afflicted, and perhaps most importantly, being compassionate towards those who are afflicted.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ― Leo Buscaglia
