Keeping Humanity in Healthcare When Data Reigns

Send us Fan MailData is becoming increasingly engrained and revered in the world of healthcare. And, indeed, data is vitally important in improving medical science, measuring outcomes and proving the value of specific processes.Yet, as data continues to grow in priority, that emphasis can cause patients to feel like a number in an ever-expanding sea of numbers. Going back to Hippocrates, medicine was designed to treat people, not just diseases. In fact, one of the main principles of the Hippocratic Oath centers on respect for the patient’s autonomy.So how do healthcare providers retain the humanity and dignity of patients and their families while data reigns?In this episode, Tim Short (M.D., HMDC, FAAFP, FAAHPM, FNAP) joins host Stan Massey of Transcend Strategy Group to discuss this crucial topic. Their conversation covers how to engage the art of empathy, as well as how to maintain a feel of high-touch care while high-tech continues to emerge in all facets of healthcare practices. Tim and Stan even discuss how to leverage technology to improve communications with patients and families, so they feel heard and understood.As implied by all those letters after his name, Tim has enjoyed an illustrious and impactful career in family practice as well as in practicing hospice and palliative medicine. He most recently served as chief medical officer at Hospice of the Piedmont in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he also was director of their education institute. That program developed education and training modules for healthcare professionals on a variety of subjects.Among other positions at several institutions, Doctor Short also served as associate professor of palliative medicine at the University of Virginia. While there, he was clinical director of the Schwartz Center rounds and course director for the “Heart of Medicine,” mentoring first-year medical students on how to apply skills such as the art of listening, communicating with patients and having difficult conversations.