“In the study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, drinking three cups of tea for 12 weeks (with no milk or sugar) led to highly significant reduction in blood sugar levels and triglycerides, which are unhealthy fats. Triglyceride levels fell by a whopping 39 percent in males and 29 percent in females.

In addition, drinking tea led to an increase in levels of HDL cholesterol, long considered to be the ‘good’ type of cholesterol.”

Holly Prigerson led a recent study which showed that patients who had a good rapport with their doctor, prayed, meditated and were visited by family and/or pastors had a higher quality of life at the time of their death than patients who were in the ICU and/or received aggressive care in the week before their passing.

Prigerson and her colleagues followed nearly 400 terminally ill cancer patients in the United States and most were white, Christian and had an average age of 59. Patients were interviewed when they entered the study, including filling out a questionnaire about their relationship with their physician. Caregivers were also interviewed at the start of the study and again after the patient’s death.

The study promotes the use of drugs when they might prolong or enhance quality of life, but also suggests that when a patient is better off with pallative care, doctors and family members/caregivers should recognize the benefits. It is the first study to look at what makes a “good death” or the highest quality of life at the end of a person’s life.

Click here to read the full article from Reuters.

Currently, the field of relational medicine is bringing an empathetic approach to these crucial interactions between patient and health professional. One of these techniques is to use theater performances, and for the next three nights starting tonight, the Emotion Theater Project will present two plays that draw on the relationships between patients and their physicians.

According to Dr. Mario Deng, UCLA’s medical director of heart transplantation and founder of Relational Medicine Theory, a big factor in a doctor’s ability to empower a patient rests in emotional guidance and the patient’s free will to make decisions for his own treatment.

“It’s not just an open narrative but the emotional exchange, the chemistry between people,” Deng said. “(Relational Medicine) tries to advocate that the health professionals take the patient personally (and) practice meditative listening to empower the patient in making informed decisions.”

 

Stemming from his own experience when ER doctors rushed to treat him without listening to him first, he notes:
“Teaching new physicians to listen and, more important, to actually hear, is, I believe, missing from medical school training.”

Cohen doesn’t just point out the problem, he offers solutions:
“There is a way to inject humanity into the system, but it has to start on Day One, when medical students still remember why they wanted to become doctors in the first place. First-year medical students should meet real patients during their first week at school; some schools require this already, but most do not.”

The article, read in full by clicking here, is brief and truly worth reading.

Our founders, Drs. Mario Deng and Federica Raia are generously opening up their home for this event.

The suggested donation is $100. More details are on the invitation below, but feel free to contact Candace Moose at moosecandace@gmail.com for more information.

We love this story that came out of the University of Arizona in 2011. This first article is a year old, but it gives great background on the National Day of Solidarity for Compassionate Patient Care, February 14. The U of A has continued its participation this year by forming a human chain. It was inspired by the caring efforts of Dr. Randall Friese, the first University of Arizona trauma surgeon to treat Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in the head.

Friese was quoted in the New York Times as saying that his most important actions were “holding her hand, speaking to her and reassuring her that she was in the hospital and would be cared for.”

Click here to read the article from 2011.

This article talks about the success of the 2012 event and shows the many hospitals and medical schools that participated.

Friese was quoted in the New York Times as saying that his most important actions were “holding her hand, speaking to her and reassuring her that she was in the hospital and would be cared for.”

Click here to read the article from 2011.

This article talks about the success of the 2012 event and shows the many hospitals and medical schools that participated.

We see the roots of Relational Medicine all around us these days and it is exciting to see our ideals spreading as both physicians and patients recognize that the strength of their relationship to each other and frequency of communication can play a huge role in getting healthy.

The article starts off with a pretty strong hook that definitely makes you want to read more:

“A good scalpel makes a better surgeon. Good communication makes a better doctor.”
- Dr. Josh Umbehr

The future of medicine in the U.S. is clear. The days of the “do more, bill more” model of reimbursement are numbered as they have produced one of the most inefficient healthcare systems in the world. While there are many unknowns regarding the future model, one thing is crystal clear — highly effective communication will separate the winners from the losers.

Read the rest of the article here.

Click here to read the article, which also has a video that accompanies it. Here’s a brief excerpt, but an important and unique one:

Teaching compassion begins on the first day of medical school at Emory. Students are assigned to small groups of no more than nine led by a faculty adviser, who will remain with them throughout their four years of school. The groups cover topics not frequently found in textbooks, such as doctor-patient communications. These interactions are key starting points to learn how to develop the behavior of compassion and empathize with patients’ experiences.

Kudos to Dr. William Branch, Dr. Mary Jo Lechowicz and everyone at Emory University for the honorable work they are doing to mold young doctors.

An excerpt is below, read the full article here.

 Whether it’s transplanting an organ or saving a premature baby, doctors can do things that would have been considered miracles 100 years ago.

But while medical science has evolved, the need for doctors to be caring and compassionate hasn’t changed.

UC San Diego Medical School is trying to make sure aspiring doctors get that message.