Value and Fact Considerations in Health Care

Patients, as they are, are facts.  How we care for and treat them reflect our values.  There are gaps between patients and the numerous labels we give them, and between specific needs and care options.  It is these gaps and our insistence on maintaining our focus on tools that leads to and results in problems and headaches.  The points of focus are the labels and care options, systems and procedures, rules and checkboxes, line item codes and standards.  The collection of these points continually expands as we find them to be inadequate.  A collection of symptoms become labeled as an illness or malady as we discover more distinguishing characteristics that are not generally present or are affected by certain drugs or medications.  We attach given labels to patients and then treat the respective labels.  Do we value real patient care, or do we value our ability to label and treat and manipulate labels?

The patient is what lies behind the points.  They are not characteristics or collections of representative labels, pixels in digital photos.  One size does not fit all.  True patient care involves connecting with individual patients and their respective bodies, lives, goals, families, and circumstances.

We Mistakenly Focus on Tools Instead of Values

Our language, laws, rules, and procedures are tools.  They help us distinguish between, label, and categorize facts, and direct our actions.  These tools tend to become our focal points.  The values implicit in these points can be hidden in their creation, and lost or disguised in the way they are portrayed and utilized, and consequently subconsciously become our own values.  Laws are what we deem to be the lowest acceptable behaviors or actions and help to establish and maintain our civilized society.  Rules and procedures are outlines as to how things are normally done to accomplish certain goals. While it is technically okay to focus on what is minimally acceptable and the way things are usually done, it results in our focusing on the tools being used and forgetting about considering and focusing on our values. When we walk, run or drive, we look forward and not down at each individual step, lest we trip and lose our balance  

We are free to live according to higher values and need to inspire and encourage each other to aim higher and remember the valued goals.  Laws, rules, and standard procedures too often serve to absolve individuals of moral responsibility.  If we focus on our higher values, then exceeding the line of minimal acceptability will not be a concern.