Authors: Bernard Lown, B. Lown, Bernard Lown
ISBN-13: 9780345425973, ISBN-10: 0345425979
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Date Published: February 1999
Edition: Reprint
The real crisis in medicine today is not about economics, insurance, or managed careit's about the loss of the fundamental human relationship between doctor and patient. In this wise and passionate book, one of our most eminent physicians reacquaints us with a classic notion often overlooked in modern medicine: health care with a human face, in which the time-honored art of healing guides doctors in their approach to patient care and their use of medical technology.
Drawing on four decades of practice as a cardiologist and a vast knowledge of literature and medical history, Dr. Lown probes the heart and soul of the doctor-patient relationship. Insightful and accessible to all, The Lost Art of Healing describes how true healers use sympathetic listening and touch to hone their diagnostic skills, how language affects the perception of illness, how doctors and patients can cultivate a relationship of trust, and how patients can obtain the most complete and beneficial care through a combination of healing techniques and conventional practices.
As Dr. Lown explains, the art of healing does not mean abandoning the spectacular advances of modern science, but rather incorporating them into a sensitive, humane, enlightened approach to medical care. With its urgent message and poignant, fascinating vignettes, The Lost Art of Healing is a book of vital, universal importance.
Too many well-trained, well-credentialed doctors fail to take a careful patient history, indulge in rampant overuse of technology and excessively prescribe drugs that result in death or disability, charges Lown, a cardiologist and professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School. In these gracefully written essays, full of interesting vignettes and case studies drawn from his 45 years of practice, he urges doctors to practice attentive listening, to desist from using intimidating language and to pay attention to the emotional stresses in patients' lives. Keeping an open mind toward alternative medicine, Lown describes his partially successful treatment in China with acupuncture for his severe back pain. He also looks at the challenges of caring for the elderly and shares helpful insights on death and dying. His stimulating inquiry is sound medicine for doctors and patients alike. (Oct.)
Acknowledgments | ||
Preface | ||
1 | The Science of History-Taking and the Art of Listening | 3 |
2 | Listening through Touching | 23 |
3 | Mind and Heart | 29 |
4 | Munchausen's Syndrome | 48 |
5 | Words That Maim | 61 |
6 | Words That Heal | 78 |
7 | Hearts of Darkness, Words of Light | 90 |
8 | The Power of Certainty | 106 |
9 | Extraordinary Healing Techniques | 121 |
10 | Malpractice Corrupts Healing | 139 |
11 | Digitalis: The Price of Invention | 161 |
12 | A New Medical Tradition | 176 |
13 | The Shock That Cures: DC and Cardioversion | 188 |
14 | The Coronary Care Unit | 202 |
15 | The Ventricular Extrasystole: Heartthrob or Harbinger? | 213 |
16 | Caring for the Elderly: Problems and Challenges | 227 |
17 | Death and Dying | 263 |
18 | A Modern Hasidic Tale | 295 |
19 | Getting Doctors to Listen | 313 |