Keynote

Percussing the Chest in the Era of Homo Technologicus

Monday, November 1
1:00 pm – 2:15 pm

Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP

In this era of technological glut, the bed-side exam seems to belong to prehistoric times and is in danger of extinction. While the majority of diagnoses are readily made this way, the skilled bedside exam is a discrete ethnographic ritual which, like all rituals, has undergone transformation. New data suggest that the placebo (and the nocebo) effect depends so much on context, ceremony, ritual, and place and is associated with measurable neurobiological changes. The placebo effect might account for as much as 30% to 40% of any therapeutic effect. Preserving the bedside exam may not only help in practicing cost-effective medicine, it may be the key to the physician-patient bond and to producing the desired therapeutic effect.

About the Speaker
As founding director of the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, brought a deep-seated empathy for patient suffering. He saw empathy as a way to preserve the innate qualities that initially bring students to medical school but frequently become suppressed due to the rigors of training. He became more focused on bedside medicine along with the value of the physical examination in diagnosing patients and the role of attentiveness to patients and their families as a vital key in the healing process. In 2007, he was recruited to Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, as a tenured professor and currently serves as Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Verghese is the author of three best-selling books: Cutting for Stone, his first novel (now in paperback), and two non-fiction books, My Own Country, and The Tennis Partner, which were both critically acclaimed. He blogs regularly on The Atlantic.com, and his work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and The New Yorker. Links to his blog postings are available at www.abrahamverghese.com/blogs.asp.