The Diminution of Human Connection in Contemporary Health Care

By Christopher H. Foster

Each time the television turns on, a new pharmaceutical commercial appears — featuring cheerful actors, joyful reunions, and uplifting music, quickly followed by a rapid-fire listing of side effects. Frequently, the ailment being addressed is one I’ve never heard of, leaving me to wonder: are we treating illnesses or creating markets?

It feels relentless. It’s draining.

And it raises a profound question: What has happened to genuine care?

The Vanishing Doctor-Patient Connection

Not so long ago — 35 or 40 years ago — the realm of medicine functioned differently. Many of us recall a time when physicians were not only caregivers — they were a part of your life. They remembered your name, perhaps even that of your family. They would sit down, establish eye contact, and take the time to understand your worries. They didn’t depend on checklists or hurry through consultations. Their stethoscopes weren’t digital, yet their comprehension was profound.

Nowadays, personal interaction frequently takes a backseat to screen time. Healthcare professionals are weighed down with charting, coding, productivity targets, and electronic health records. Appointments are mere ten-minute encounters, if that. Patients recount experiences in offices where they receive a diagnosis before they’ve completed sharing their symptoms, quickly followed by a prescription handed out faster than one can say, “But wait, I have questions.”

This abbreviated model of care may be essential in certain high-volume settings, such as ERs or urgent care facilities. However, routine care — where relationships are nurtured and healing flourishes — has suffered the most under the pressures of economics, technology, and time limitations.

The Surge of the Pharmaceutical Sector

Our excessive dependence on medications didn’t occur by chance. The pharmaceutical sector invests billions each year in direct-to-consumer marketing — with the United States and New Zealand being the only two nations globally that permit it. These advertisements plant ideas in viewers’ minds, implying that a diagnosis—and a corresponding drug—might be closer than they think. In a system that prioritizes speed over substance, medications often serve as the initial “conversation starter” — rather than a conclusive recommendation following thorough investigation.

While drugs have undeniably changed lives and prolonged them, they are not always the ultimate solution. Yet, due to the pressures on doctors to achieve more in diminished time, prescribing can become the path of least resistance. Writing a prescription is often simpler than delving into stress, lifestyle, trauma, or chronic but intricate conditions that cannot be resolved in ten-minute sessions.

Reimagining Care: Returning to the Fundamentals

So what do patients truly desire? What do we crave in this fast-paced, algorithm-driven healthcare environment? The answer is surprisingly straightforward: genuine connection.

We seek physicians who remember our names.

We want doctors who have reviewed our charts before entering the examination room.

Above all, we want to be heard. Patients desire providers who listen more than they type, who ask questions no automated system could think of, and whose care respects the narratives accompanying every symptom.

When it comes to medicine, we desire its thoughtful application—not an automatic response. We advocate for medications to be reserved for circumstances where they are sincerely required, not dictated by protocols or averages. Individuals are more than their diagnoses. Risk factors should serve as guidelines, not presumptions. Not every smoker will develop lung cancer, and not every person with a high A1c has full-blown diabetes. Biology is intricate. So are people.

The human body is complex. And our feelings aren’t always covered in textbooks.

From Transaction to Trust

What we’ve lost in our existing model is trust — the kind that emerges when a doctor spends time with a patient without fixating on the clock, when the patient is viewed not just for their symptoms but for their lived circumstances — stressors, habits, relationships, and history that Google can’t diagnose.

True healing commences not with a prescription pad but with genuine presence.

Presence cannot be delegated. It cannot be hurried. It constructs connections between fear and understanding, between sickness and wholeness. And without it, healthcare devolves into a transaction, not a relationship.

The Path Forward

Admittedly, the system is intricate. Providers face immense pressure — regulatory challenges, staffing shortages, and financial limitations, to name a few. Burnout is widespread. Patients aren’t the only ones feeling dehumanized; many physicians mourn the care they no longer feel equipped to provide.

Nonetheless, we must acknowledge that this healthcare framework — vast, powerful, industrial — was designed to cater to humans. Not charts. Not revenue models. Humans.

What if we redefined efficiency to encompass patient satisfaction?

What if time spent truly listening was acknowledged as clinical work, not a peripheral benefit?

What if we supported training models that emphasize empathy, cultural background, and continuity of care?

And what if we pivoted once more — away from merely dispensing medications and toward personalized, enduring relationships between patients and providers?

Conclusion

If we don’t recalibrate —