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Slow Medicine
1From the Family Medicine Attending Physician, Bronxcare Health Systems, Bronx, NY (EH). ehill3047@gmail.com.
Insights
Fast medicine, characterized by high medical use and spending, is contrasted with "slow medicine," emphasizing primary care. The piece argues for the superior health outcomes and value derived from slow medicine, advocating for increased primary care resources.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Health Services Research
- Primary Care Medicine
Background:
- The current healthcare system often prioritizes high-cost interventions over preventative care.
- A dichotomy exists between
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the ethical considerations of
Main Methods:
- This is an opinion piece, drawing on a personal patient case study.
- Ethical analysis of medical decision-making.
Main Results:
- The case study highlights the risks associated with aggressive interventions.
- Primary care, or "slow medicine," is presented as a more effective framework for conferring patient health.
Conclusions:
- Advocacy for increased investment in primary care resources is crucial.
- Slow medicine offers a more sustainable and effective model for improving overall patient health outcomes.
Abstract:
This is an opinion piece that examines the dichotomy of "fast medicine" (which involves high medical use and spending) and what I refer to as "slow medicine". It discusses ethical questions around which of these two frameworks really confers better "health" to patients - using examples from a real patient scenario of mine who was considering undergoing a relatively high-risk carotid endarterectomy. It then re-affirms the importance of primary care to conferring health and the ultimate value of primary care, or "slow medicine". I believe it is a timely discussion as we continue to advocate for more primary care resources in our health care system.
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