Chair's Message
Dr. Oliver Sacks and the doctor – patient relationship
I was intrigued to read the memoir of the life of Dr. Oliver Sacks, written by Norman Doidge, which appeared in the Globe and Mail on February 6, 2016.
Sacks was a neurologist, a remarkable physician and writer who died recently. He was perhaps best known for his books, Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat, and An Anthropologist on Mars, among others. Sacks, himself, attributed his success as a physician and writer to his ability to write about each patient individually.
In the memoir Doidge writes, "Oliver Sack's legacy was to restore a vision of a humane medicine that drew its power not from technological breakthroughs alone, but through the healing power of the doctor – patient relationship. It had roots in a more old-fashioned view that came in part from his general practitioner father, who had close relationships with his patients and did frequent house calls."
As family physicians we are reminded that the doctor – patient relationship is one of the key strengths of our discipline, one that distinguishes us from others, even those who define themselves as primary care practitioners.
It is too easy in the present context of health systems, population health, and advancing technology to minimize our patients and their individual stories, and to under recognize the value of the case history. Yet, we do this to the detriment of ourselves and our patients.
Sack's legacy reminds us to explore and come to understand the narratives of our patients' lives. Furthermore his legacy points to the need to write about our patients in a patient-centred manner.
Tom Freeman in his paper on the Patient-centred case presentation writes, "With the development of a patient-centred clinical method, it is desirable to have a patient-centred case presentation format that places the patient's subjective experience in the forefront without sacrificing traditional biomedical aspects."1
This is a reminder for us to be patient-centred in all aspects of our work, to write about our individual patients in a patient-centred format. Dr. Sack's work reminds us that as family physicians we bring value to our patients' health and to the system by sticking to our principles, a central one being the doctor – patient relationship.
As always I welcome your comments and feedback at: stephen.wetmore@schulich.uwo.ca.
1 Freeman TR, The Patient-centred case presentation. Fam Pract 1994 Jun;11(2): 164-70
