Tag Archives: doctor-patient communication

Travels with Myself (and another)

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Brian T. Maurer Abstract: After four decades of medical practice, a primary care clinician finds himself cast in the role of a patient in need of dermatological surgery for skin cancer from a former colleague he had never met face to face until the day of the surgical encounter. The night before the surgery I plowed through the Delia Owens novel “Where the Crawdads Sing.”  I hadn’t anticipated the ending and fitfully drifted in and out of sleep for a couple of hours, finally succumbing to exhaustion and the warmth of the bed.  Nonetheless, my eyes opened at 5:00 AM.  I got up to do my morning exercise routine, showered, … Continue reading →

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Coconut Oil’s “Miraculous” Effects On Skin

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By Adam Vo* Keywords: coconut oil, skin disease, personal experience, doctor-patient communication, eczema, moisturizer, skin care, dermatologist, skin, natural, doctor’s apostolic function Abstract This is a personal vignette of a student’s unusual encounter involving coconut oil, while shadowing the local dermatologist in Southern California. The narrator juxtaposes his childhood experiences as a dermatology patient with his adolescent experiences as a medical shadow. On a journey to discover the role of coconut oil in dermatological practice, the student learns about the various benefits of coconut oil, ranging from treatment for an array of skin disorders to a daily moisturizer. After an extensive literature review, the narrator’s appreciation for coconut oil increases, … Continue reading →

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Dr. Arrieta’s Lesson: Have We Lost Something in the Gain?

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by Ariana Shaari* A global pandemic transformed the way medical care is delivered nearly overnight. Telemedicine, generally defined as healthcare delivery without face to face contact, has crucial applications in the fight against Coronavirus – facilitating social distancing, easing the burden on physicians, and increasing accessibility to care, especially for providers and patients without adequate personal protective equipment (Luz, 2019). Telemedicine had a robust foundation before the pandemic and was quickly adopted to preserve crucial aspects of healthcare delivery. It’s roots are in the 19th century, when a physician first conveyed electrocardiographs over the telephone (Ryu, 2010). In the 1920s, radio consultations were used to provide medical care to patients … Continue reading →

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What Matters to Me: Investigations in a Dermatology Practice

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Nothing about me without me.  What Matters to Me: Investigations in a Dermatology Practice By Hope Mendez and David Elpern, M.D. The Skin Clinic, 12 Meadow St. Williamstown, MA 01267 Corresponding author: David Elpern djelpern@gmail.com Abstract: We surveyed 125 consecutive patients in a dermatology clinic in rural Massachusetts in the attempt to learn what matters most to them in their interactions with providers and the health care system. Keywords: patient-doctor communication, patients’ rights Introduction: We were first made aware of to this subject by a prescient article in the British Medical Journal by Sosena Kebede.1 When patients see providers they are rarely given the opportunity to communicate what they they … Continue reading →

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Can Doctors and Patients be Partners in Healthcare?

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By James Channing Shaw, M.D. Trust in doctors. It used to be absolute. If our sick patients improved, we were celebrated. When we failed, families praised us for trying. This arrangement was not right, but no doctor went to any great lengths to change the perception. About three decades ago, the pendulum swung. Now doctoring is frequently viewed as market share, self-promotion, unnecessary procedures and testing. It would seem that professionalism has become obsolete. Patients, too, have changed with the times. Many patients would like to have every test, expect their health problems to be cured, fixed painlessly, no disruption to social calendars, easy parking, and why can’t this cancer be … Continue reading →

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The Care of Patients

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More humanism and less science, that’s what medicine needs. But, humanism is hard work,and a lot of science is just Tinkertoy. Robertson Davies, The Cunning Man David J. Elpern, MD Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2002;47:317-8. Author’s note (July 2015): I wrote this report based on an office study I did in 2000. Originally, it had a number of tables, but the editors truncated the paper, thus confirming the saying, “A camel is a horse designed by a committee.” Still, I often reminisce on the research’s findings: that almost all of our patients need our specialized knowledge and our comfort and caring, while only some require our technical … Continue reading →

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Corina’s Pride

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To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always by James Channing Shaw view PDF: CORINA’S PRIDE My resident, Rishaad, presented the case in the corridor: “This is Corina, a fifty year old woman with itching on her back, chest and abdomen. No other medical problems.” He presented his findings and working diagnosis. We entered the examination room. Corina appeared healthy. I agreed that the hundreds of tiny, rough bumps over her torso were probably benign keratoses. Being the third consultant, we performed a biopsy and prescribed short-term symptomatic treatment, asking her to return in a week or so. Outside the room, I explained that such an eruption of itchy … Continue reading →

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The Dermatologist, My Father and Me

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To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.  Abstract:  The patient, a teenage boy with early male-pattern alopecia, is brought to a respected academic dermatologist at a famous medical center for an opinion.  Sixty years later, the experience still resonates. Keywords:  doctor-patient communication, alopecia, baldness, consultation, cruelty, male pattern alopecia My father was especially sensitive about being bald, which, in the context of the 1950’s, was not unusual.  So, when I was in my mid-teens, and the familiar signs of thinning and receding hair began to show, he took me to see a dermatologist. Determined to spare no expense to find a cure for my impending affliction he had … Continue reading →

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