The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.

SMJ // Article

Perspectives

The Current Challenge of Suffering

Authors: Stephen Sandroni, MD

Abstract

“Appears older than stated age.” It is mid-afternoon. There are other patients to see. I do not elaborate on the opening line of the physical exam. The inadequacy of the phrase comes back to me as I am driving home: It doesn’t begin to convey the weariness I saw in those eyes, the history etched on that face. The problem list populated quickly with similar but even shorter phrases. Here, I must strike a balance—enough information to convey the key issues that need attention, but not so much as to slow the sacred “workflow.” My patient is suffering. The system requires audit-worthy details and billable diagnostic codes, but it is uninterested in degrees of suffering.

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