Confession: I had to give up on "The Bear" after three or four episodes. It was just too stressful for me. (I also used to literally hide in the kitchen during parts of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul.")
Nevertheless, I loved Jules Lipoff's First Opinion this week on what "The Bear" can teach health care about hospitality. As he notes, during the show's second season, one character points out that "restaurants and hospitals use the same word: 'hospitality.'" Lipoff, a board-certified dermatologist, writes, "This scene and especially that last line raised some questions for me as a doctor. Do hospitals and doctors embrace "hospitality"? Doctors' offices aren't restaurants, and hospitals aren't hotels, nor should they be. But should we aspire to send patients home feeling catered to like the fictional restaurant's patrons?" As a patient, I don't necessarily need to feel catered to — but I sure do like it when a physician sees me as a person. I don't need the ostentatious hospitality of a Michelin star restaurant, but the harried yet sincere warmth of a family diner goes a long way.
In a very different First Opinion, Abdullahi Tsanni, a marvelous news intern at STAT this summer, writes about his firsthand experience working at a tuberculosis clinic in Nigeria for a year. There, he learned that even free medication cannot defeat TB. "People infected with the disease are among the poorest and most vulnerable in society. So, the drugs alone aren't enough; they need social and economic support," he writes. Without nutrition, transportation to clinics, and more, we can't expect medication to work. Be sure to check out the rest of Abdullahi's excellent work for STAT.
Also in First Opinion this week: the "LMNO problem" in health care, public pharma as a solution to seemingly endless drug shortages, the non-physical side effects of treatment, and more.
Got an idea for First Opinion? Submit it here. Got a thought for First Opinion or a recommendation for a show that won't stress me out too much? Email me: torie.bosch@statnews.com.
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