EP 295 Does the Medical Community Provide ‘Care’ Anymore?

: Renowned psychiatrist, Dr. Arthur Kleinman, learned a lot about caregiving when his wife, Joan, suffered early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease.  It made him re-assess much about his own professional approach to patients and that of the medical community, in general.  In his book, ‘The Soul of Care’, he looks at why care is so central to our lives–and how it’s at risk in today’s world.  He says that the political atmosphere and medical business necessities and metrics work against it.  He offers candor and wisdom, having taught at Harvard for over 40 years, in this conversation and challenges our notions about healthcare today.  It was astonishing to hear him remind us that at any given time in this country over 50 million Americans are performing the long, hard, unglamorous work of caregiving.  And, yet, he also suggests that its richness in meaning is vastly undervalued.  We have an engaging conversation about the role of doctors and other allied medical professionals in providing care in our country.  It’s  all about health care reform, with a strong side of humanity, on this podcast.

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