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This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on the power of touch in the clinical medical environment.
In Part 2, we will resume our interview with Stephen W. Russell, MD, co-president of the Society of Bedside Medicine and professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
According to Aristotle, the first and most important sensation that human beings share with the animal kingdom is touch. Without touch, he posited, animals cannot exist.
1 The philosopher took these theories a step further, linking sensory perception with the soul; the sensitive soul, in particular, renders animals capable of feeling pleasure and pain, and of the senses governed by this soul, touch or tactility was considered the âmost pervasive and intelligent.â
MedCity News
At the height of digital wellness, are we missing the human touch?
Medicine will never progress without technology there’s no denying that. But for the foreseeable future, human interaction remains an instrumental part of the healthcare experience.
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The pandemic has cast a spotlight on healthcare’s technological shortcomings, accelerating the industry’s historically slow march toward digitization. Confronted with lockdowns and social-distancing mandates, providers have turned to digital communication and data management, e-visits, and telehealth to continue serving patients. In response, enterprising firms of all shapes and sizes from tech giants to health-app startups are scrambling to meet this need with secure, efficient, and reliable technology aimed at streamlining remote care.