Caring GPs do more to prolong life than medication, study shows

Researchers at the University of Cambridge discovered that patients who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes were up to 50 per cent less likely to die within a decade if their doctor showed empathy. In healthcare, empathy is defined as understanding the patient’s perspective, shared decision making between patient and doctor, and consideration how the illness may impact other areas of their life. But with financial and time pressures plaguing the NHS, doctors increasingly complain they do not have enough time to carry out the softer side of medicine. Now research, published in the Annals of Family Medicine, shows that showing care for a patient can be far more effective at prolonging life than giving drugs to lower cholesterol or blood pressure and so should be prioritised.

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Source: The Telegraph, 8 July 2019