Empathy is challenged by many factors beleaguering health care today. We are at a time in medical history when physicians are facing more training requirements and compliance metrics than ever before, ranging from incentives for hand washing to required communication skills training to improve patient satisfaction.
In addition, physicians are facing tremendous pressures in terms of the number of patients they are expected to see, the short amount of time in which they have to see them, the complexity of the health problems, and increasingly burdensome documentation requirements.
by Helen Riess, M.D.
