items of interest

with contributions from David B. Caruso, Laurent Belsie, Gary Thomas, Michael Silver, Terence Monmaney

"A 1999 STUDY conducted by the Columbia School of Medicine at the University of Missouri found that although 96 percent of family doctors [in the US] consider spiritual well-being to be an important part of a patient's health, fewer than 20 percent reported having discussed spiritual topics with patients.

"The top reason given was time. Doctors, pushed by financial incentives to cram as many patients as possible into their workday, are spending less time with patients than ever before."

[One study conducted by the American Medical Association] "found the average encounter lasted about 16 minutes . . . ."

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