Do we neglect patients?

Abstract

When a patient walks into a consultant's room, he/she has a specific symptom/set of symptoms to tell the physician, based on which the story kicks off; differentials are considered, certain tests are ordered, and a treatment/management plan is devised. In due course of time, the whole scenario becomes monotonous, mechanical, and robotic. Something gets forgotten in this process- the patient himself, as an entity, a living being, an individual possessing a body, mind, emotions, fears, and anxieties. The human mind is so complex, layer upon layer that a mere one to two minutes fails to make evident what is going on within him.