Empathy, Smartphones: Health Care of the Future?

A do-it-yourself healthcare revolution is well underway.  It’s being powered by a rediscovery of every individual’s innate capacity to heal and enhance well-being. 

On the one hand is the hi-tech drive to get us to pay attention to the body.  Just go to the mobile app store and shop the thousands of health related applications for your hand-held device, including calorie counters, weight trackers, virtual trainers and meditation guides.

On the other hand there is an increased awareness by consumers and health professionals of the natural power of empathy – person to person – and its application in feeling good physically and mentally.  It’s an intriguing dynamic: faith in software gadgetry and trust in the instinctive quality of compassion, both used to boost one’s well-being.

The impact of smartphone doctoring and health Googling remains unclear.  Not all information available on the web is reliable or useable to the average Joe.  Meanwhile, there is concern over the fact that some health apps don’t work.  No one should be surprised.

The influence empathy plays in health care is receiving growing consideration. It’s a high priority as surveys indicate individuals want and demand more of a doctor’s attention, expressed in more time with the patient and concerted listening to his needs.

Empathy’s impact on wellness may have gone unnoticed recently in the drive to develop new health technologies, but its influence on well-being has been recognized for eons. The compassion of a nurse comes to mind. And recall the Bible account of the Good Samaritan, the man who went out of his way to help someone in physical distress. His caring impulse – turning his compassion into action – was a lifesaver for the unfortunate victim.

Nathanael Johnson reflects on the “care effect” in a piece for Wired Magazine.  He has been studying research results focusing on medical and alternative medicine and the placebo effect.  He sees a correlation between the empathy of a practitioner and the reduction of symptoms in a patient.

“Whether we acknowledge it or not,” Johnson writes, “we all yearn for care when we suffer. When we can’t get genuine caring, we seek out the medical version: spendy and sometimes even counterproductive treatments.” He suggests we “stop thinking of care as just another word for treatment and instead accept it as a separate, legitimate part of medicine to be studied and delivered.”

Health facilities around the county like the Cleveland Clinic are noticing the benefits of an empathetic approach to health care. Delos M. Cosgrove MD, Cleveland Clinic CEO and President, writes that the clinic has gone from a doctor-centered organization to a patient-centered structure.  He says, “Yes we do teach empathy. We’ve made it part of our culture. There’s still a long way to go. But we’re on our way.”  

The trend of consumers taking action on their own behalf to better their health outcomes looks like a positive development. Valuing and incorporating empathy and understanding in the drive to better health is a low tech, high touch app we can all get behind.

Steven Salt is a writer and blogger about health, spirituality and thought.  He is a Christian Science practitioner, curious about everything.  You can follow him on Twitter @SaltSeasoned.