Quality Health Care Includes EmpathyA man enters an emergency room with severe abdominal pain. He hopes to find a doctor who knows how to treat him. The doctor enters his room and begins robotically palpating his abdomen, showing no trace of recognition of the pain he is feeling. The man begins to wonder, “Does this doctor care that I am in extreme pain? He then asks himself, "If he doesn't care that I'm in pain, how motivated can he be to relieve my pain?" » This may seem like a silly question. If the doctor didn't care about healing people, why would he become a doctor? Modern technology has caused doctors to become complacent and emotionally detached from their patients. Physicians must demonstrate empathy towards their patients in order to provide quality care despite the lack of time they have for their patients. The patient's perception of the doctor in this situation is that he lacks empathy. Empathy can be described as a person's ability to understand the feelings and thoughts of another. The role of empathy in healthcare is very important; specifically, it is crucial that physicians are able to effectively express empathy without compromising their primary goal, which is to diagnose and treat patients. Although the science of medicine is primarily based on the functioning of the human body, it cannot be ignored that emotional health plays a vital role in a patient's quality of life. Improving physical health will inevitably improve emotional health. The proper way to approach healing is to understand this concept. In the article “Empathy in Medicine—A Neurobiological Perspective,” Dr. Helen Rice states: Empathetic physicians can gain critical information and...... middle of article ......tag=contentMain ;contentBodyRice, H. (2010). Empathy in medicine – a neurobiological perspective. JAMA, 304(14), 1605. Retrieved from http://drscottwright.wikispaces.com/file/view/Empathy and Medicine - A Neurobiological Perspective.pdfSwitankowsky, I. (2005). From detached concern to empathy: humanizing medical practice. Humane Medicine Health Care, 5(2), retrieved from http://www.humanehealthcare.com/Article.asp?art_id=834Hardee, J. (February 16, 2010). The role of empathy in health care. Retrieved from http://realbalance.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=143&Itemid=999 Torrey, T. (2011, September 13). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://patients.about.com/od/therightdoctorforyou/a/docpatientcomm.htmWolfe, S., Carome, M., Barbehenn, E. and Sasich, L. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.worstpills.org/public/page.cfm?op_id=3