Medicine
Since it became possible to post online comments on American Family Physician content earlier this year, no single article has prompted as many comments as "The Spiritual Assessment," published in the September 15th issue. In the article, Drs. Aaron Saguil and Karen Phelps suggest assessing older patients, hospitalized patients, and patients with worsening or terminal illness, who are more likely to be interested in sharing their spiritual or religious beliefs. Other patients may bring up their faith or spiritual practices without prompting in the course of a normal conversation. Since 80 percent of patients and family physicians perceive religion to be important, according to the authors, acknowledging and supporting spiritual beliefs is a key component of holistic, patient-centered care:
The spiritual assessment allows physicians to support patients by stressing empathetic listening, documenting spiritual preferences for future visits, incorporating the precepts of patients' faith traditions into treatment plans, and encouraging patients to use the resources of their spiritual traditions and communities for overall wellness. Conducting the spiritual assessment also may help strengthen the physician-patient relationship and offer physicians opportunities for personal renewal, resiliency, and growth.
The range of comments received thus far reflects family physicians' diversity of views on this topic. For example, while one reader opined that spiritual concerns have "little to do with improving the health of our patients," another countered, "I do not think this article goes far enough in promoting this type of spiritual health assessment." Another reader argued that the spiritual assessment should "not be elevated to the status of another vital sign we must always take." Some readers expressed concerns that physicians might seek to impose their religious beliefs on vulnerable patients, while another suggested that "many physicians seem to have more fear of [discussing] spiritual issues than the patients do."
How important is it to perform a spiritual assessment in primary care? Is it essential, unnecessary, or somewhere in between? As a patient, do you think speaking with your physician about your religious or spiritual beliefs could be helpful for your health? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
**
A version of the above post was first published on the AFP Community Blog.
- Misconceptions About Palliative Care Are Common
In inpatient settings, family physicians frequently care for patients with progressive, incurable conditions that cause severe pain. Interventions aimed at slowing the progress of a disease often add to patients' physical distress; therefore, pharmacologic...
- Guest Post: Why You Should Care About How Family Physicians Are Measured
The following post consists of lightly edited excerpts from several e-mail exchanges among members of the Family Medicine Education Consortium between May 20-26, 2014. ** Colleagues, We recently published an article documenting family physicians'...
- Strategies For Preventing Physician Burnout
Although they probably came as little surprise to physicians who practice primary care, the results of a national survey of physician burnout in the Archives of Internal Medicine earlier this year made headlines in The New York...
- Striking Back At The True Rationers Of Health Care
In February, I predicted that Don Berwick would not survive the partisan politics surrounding his recess appointment as administrator of CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), and regrettably, Dr. Berwick indeed stepped down from that position...
- Does Your Doctor Understand Your Health Beliefs?
As a family physician, I've found that patients' individual health beliefs often play a big role in important decisions such as starting a new medication or undergoing an invasive test or procedure. Some patients were more willing to endure potentially...
Medicine
The spiritual assessment: unnecessary or essential?
Since it became possible to post online comments on American Family Physician content earlier this year, no single article has prompted as many comments as "The Spiritual Assessment," published in the September 15th issue. In the article, Drs. Aaron Saguil and Karen Phelps suggest assessing older patients, hospitalized patients, and patients with worsening or terminal illness, who are more likely to be interested in sharing their spiritual or religious beliefs. Other patients may bring up their faith or spiritual practices without prompting in the course of a normal conversation. Since 80 percent of patients and family physicians perceive religion to be important, according to the authors, acknowledging and supporting spiritual beliefs is a key component of holistic, patient-centered care:
The spiritual assessment allows physicians to support patients by stressing empathetic listening, documenting spiritual preferences for future visits, incorporating the precepts of patients' faith traditions into treatment plans, and encouraging patients to use the resources of their spiritual traditions and communities for overall wellness. Conducting the spiritual assessment also may help strengthen the physician-patient relationship and offer physicians opportunities for personal renewal, resiliency, and growth.
The range of comments received thus far reflects family physicians' diversity of views on this topic. For example, while one reader opined that spiritual concerns have "little to do with improving the health of our patients," another countered, "I do not think this article goes far enough in promoting this type of spiritual health assessment." Another reader argued that the spiritual assessment should "not be elevated to the status of another vital sign we must always take." Some readers expressed concerns that physicians might seek to impose their religious beliefs on vulnerable patients, while another suggested that "many physicians seem to have more fear of [discussing] spiritual issues than the patients do."
How important is it to perform a spiritual assessment in primary care? Is it essential, unnecessary, or somewhere in between? As a patient, do you think speaking with your physician about your religious or spiritual beliefs could be helpful for your health? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
**
A version of the above post was first published on the AFP Community Blog.
- Misconceptions About Palliative Care Are Common
In inpatient settings, family physicians frequently care for patients with progressive, incurable conditions that cause severe pain. Interventions aimed at slowing the progress of a disease often add to patients' physical distress; therefore, pharmacologic...
- Guest Post: Why You Should Care About How Family Physicians Are Measured
The following post consists of lightly edited excerpts from several e-mail exchanges among members of the Family Medicine Education Consortium between May 20-26, 2014. ** Colleagues, We recently published an article documenting family physicians'...
- Strategies For Preventing Physician Burnout
Although they probably came as little surprise to physicians who practice primary care, the results of a national survey of physician burnout in the Archives of Internal Medicine earlier this year made headlines in The New York...
- Striking Back At The True Rationers Of Health Care
In February, I predicted that Don Berwick would not survive the partisan politics surrounding his recess appointment as administrator of CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), and regrettably, Dr. Berwick indeed stepped down from that position...
- Does Your Doctor Understand Your Health Beliefs?
As a family physician, I've found that patients' individual health beliefs often play a big role in important decisions such as starting a new medication or undergoing an invasive test or procedure. Some patients were more willing to endure potentially...