The world’s second largest system of medicine today, Homeopathy is considered to be the ideal system for completely diminishing the chronicity of any illness in a suffering man. But to achieve this aim, what is demanded by a physician is the basis of a healthy and trustworthy Doctor-Patient relationship.
LISTENING AND NOT JUST HEARING.
For academicians of the English language and philosophy, both these words mean the same, but as homeopaths, we very well understand the difference and the importance of listening as it is the only way of understanding the Man in the Disease, as stated by our master.
In recent times, a need to have a patient centric communication even in modern medicine has been acknowledged and modern day medicines have no formal training for the same. Here, homeopaths have an upper hand as the very essence of case taking in homeopathy is patient centric, based on symptom totality and hence what was obsolete for the modern day medicine is already in existence in homeopathy.
Research evidence in the past three decades has proved that doctor-patient communication plays a pivotal role in delivery of high quality patient-centered health care (Golin, Thorpe, & DiMatteo, 2007).
)
The table above clearly indicates that the patient centric approach is completely in line with the case taking protocols we follow in homeopath.
“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”
― J.K. Rowling
Recovery in the most gentle and permanent way, can hence be aimed at , only by understanding the reactions of the man to the external agencies, especially in the times of suffering and pain. These reactions can only be understood by listening, patiently and compassionately to the man in the disease.
From a patient’s perspective:
This character sketch justifies the long sittings one gives when he visits a homeopath for the first time for his/her chronic illness which has been bringing the pain and suffering to the patient. It is this disease which has crippled the lifestyle of the patient to an extent that at times it has been endless suffering both on mental and physical plane.
This is where , the CASE TAKING PROCESS, in homeopathy differs largely from any other system of medicine and being the most important aspect of the treatment, it requires a great deal of expertise on the part of the physician to extract the inner essence of the human being in disease. Only then, will he be able to restore the healthy state and CURE the suffering individual of his symptoms and disease.
It must be easier for homeopaths to understand and justify the long sittings but for a patient , at times, it becomes more painful and irritating to revisit all his bad time and try to put together the exact feelings and chronology of the events. Here again, the physicians’ role is expected to offer a helping hand. Reassurance to the patient about the importance of doing so , helps the patient build a confidence in the physician. Assuring that his explanations are not just paper filling, but actually helpful in understanding the core of his inner self and hence his disease. The set of symptoms and feelings will help us arrive at the similimum character sketch remedy for the patient and help us treat him.
The process, not only develops a required healthy doctor-patient relationship, but also creates a sense of security in the individual and his opening up helps us get the best cures ever and hence bring laurels to our system of healing.
As our master has stated, understand the MAN IN DISEASE AND NOT THE DISEASE IN MAN, he rightly meant to emphasize on the core understanding of the human being , his inner secrets, his attitudes and fears, so as to help him not only in his physical symptoms but also affect his personality traits to make his quality of life better.
