One of the most widespread and persistent com-plaints of patients today is that their physicians don’tlisten. For their part, physicians complain that they nolonger have sufficient time to spend with patients, andthey often blame economic pressures imposed by man-aged care (
Nonetheless, they acknowledge that personal encounters with patients constitute the most satisfying aspect of their professional lives. They recog-nize that empathy, the ability to “connect” with pa-tients—in a deep sense, to listen, to pay attention—liesat the heart of medical practice
