The Hippocratic Oath Safeguards Person-Centred Care

MindSkiller® embraces a person-centred approach to mental health education, designed to foster a conducive environment for growth and well-being.

Person-centred care has been a pillar of healthcare since the latter half of the 20th century (Boardman & Dave, 2020). It advocates for healthcare professionals to see "each person respectfully as an individual human being, and not just as a condition to be treated" (Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare [ACSQHC], n.d.). This approach enhances clinical outcomes and empowers patients to coordinate their own healthcare.

"It involves seeking out and understanding what is important to the patient, their families, carers and support people, fostering trust and establishing mutual respect. It also means working together to share decisions and plan care," the ACSQHC website reads.

While a person-centred approach remains key in healthcare, concerns are mounting that it is being sidelined — making way for increased government intervention and the corporatisation of the healthcare system.MindSkiller® founder and consulting psychiatrist Dr Gary Galambos explored the impact of such developments in a recent interview with Sky News' Taylor Auerbach.

In their conversation, Auerbach claims that medical ethics are becoming increasingly "politicised," pointing to the Australian guidelines endorsed in May 2020.

The 27-page document urges clinicians to ensure the "cultural safety" of patients – a sentiment aligning with principles in the Hippocratic Oath.

The Hippocratic Oath is a traditional pledge among medical professionals, tracing back to Hippocrates and Ancient Greek medical literature. With a history dating back to 400 BC, the Oath achieved universal recognition in the early 19th century (Indla & Radhika, 2020).

"[At its inception, the Hippocratic Oath] required a new physician to swear upon a number of healing gods that he will uphold a number of professional, ethical standards," the National Library of Medicine website reads.

While certain aspects of the Oath may be antiquated, the principles are foundational to the medical profession — specifying “beneficence and non-maleficence and the rule of confidentiality.” As the medical guidelines in Australia evolve, there is a concern that the pursuit for bureaucratic compliance might overshadow these fundamental principles of prioritising the patient and doing no harm.

It is the role of regulators to prioritise patient safety and prevent problems from occurring — especially in the rare instances that medical practitioners do not take into account social factors relevant to a particular patient. Medical professionals who are guided by the Hippocratic Oath generally work with their patients to meet their needs respectfully, compassionately, and effectively. Imposing even well-meaning protocols on clinicians can sometimes undermine person-centred care.

There is a risk that medical regulators may try to overregulate doctors rather than educate them about the sociocultural factors affecting patient care. Such overregulation leads to doctors practising defensively. This can be counterproductive to patient needs, incur unnecessary costs on the health system and ultimately demoralise medical professionals.

As Dr Galambos writes in a LinkedIn post: "It defeats the purpose of what needs to be a trusting, safe and collaborative relationship to force me to impose those rules, regulations and policies on the patient myself."

Preserving the therapeutic bond between doctor and patient should be the cornerstone of "person-centred care." Medical regulators should keep that in mind— as it is a slippery slope to overregulate what happens between the doctor and their patient.

“If doctors feel they are obliged to follow some committee-led code and tick box exercise, they will be distracted from the needs of their patient," Dr Galambos tells Auerbach.

Most patients are quite capable of letting a doctor know their key concerns, issues and needs. For those who struggle to advocate for themselves or articulate their priorities, it may help a doctor to keep in mind the code of conduct, as well as the Hippocratic Oath. However, it is also important for patients and doctors to have resources that can assist them to communicate more effectively.

In this vein, MindSkiller® remains committed to strengthening the doctor-patient relationship by educating users on the language of mental health. Assisting users in understanding the often complex terminology within mental health care through ELEARNING, MindSkiller® can facilitate effective communication between patients and healthcare professionals.

Watch Dr Galambos' full interview via Sky News .

Sources:

https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/health/federal-government-urged-to-remove-red-tape-and-overhaul-medical-ethics/video/cf3965b1b6947c363bc575cb5762bad2
https://www.skynews.com.au/lifestyle/health/doctors-demand-overhaul-of-australias-medical-ethics-guidelines-over-new-woke-set-of-codes-arguing-for-return-to-hippocratic-oath/news-story/fe5f2f49fcd0e192e40e2952144beb04#share-tools
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8281201/
https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/our-work/partnering-consumers/person-centred-care
https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Policies/Code-of-conduct.aspx
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gary-galambos-ba01141a5_aussie-doctors-demand-overhaul-of-woke-activity-7155899692525002752-NHhK
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9706247/#:~:text=The%20consensus%20was%20on%20the,and%20the%20rule%20of%20confidentiality