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The Power of Human Interaction

Figure 27. Dr. Brehove cares for a young person at a local shelter. Venice Family Clinic Photos, 2008.

Figure 27.  Dr. Brehove cares for a young person at a local shelter. Venice Family Clinic Photos, 2008.

“CARING is the true patient-centered medical home.”   

—Dr. Coley King 

“[T]hat the placebo effect is a biological response to an act of caring; that somehow the encounter itself calls forth healing and that the more intense and focused it is, the more healing it evokes.” 37

Reflections from field experience:

  • It can mean a lot to show up to see an unsheltered patient in the field.
  • Simply meeting with a patient and taking a history and a physical exam without rendering any medical treatment may provide a powerful physiological and emotional effect for the patient.
  • Just because we did not administer any medical treatment does not mean we did not affect the patient positively.