Jennifer Y C Edgoose, Yohualli B Anaya, David Rakel
{"title":"Face-to-Face Relationships Still Matter in a Digital Age: A Call for a 5th C in the Core Tenets of Primary Care.","authors":"Jennifer Y C Edgoose, Yohualli B Anaya, David Rakel","doi":"10.1370/afm.3144","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We primary care clinicians, scholars, and leaders ascribe value to Barbara Starfield's core tenets of primary care-the 4 Cs: first contact, comprehensiveness, coordination, and continuity. In today's era of rapid technological advancements and dwindling resources, what are the implications for face-to-face interactions of patient-clinician relationships? We propose adding a 5th C: \"Contiguity.\" Contiguity-or physical proximity and presence-is a key dimension that not only enables the necessary technical aspects of a physical exam but also authenticates the most human aspects of a relationship and occurs specifically when we are physically vulnerable and responsible for the other before us. This, in turn, may best enable us to bridge difference and nurture trust with our patients. We measure what we value and, thus, naming Contiguity as a core tenet assures that we will not lose sight of this keystone in a patient's relationship with their personal physician.</p>","PeriodicalId":50973,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Family Medicine","volume":"22 5","pages":"453-455"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11419726/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Family Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.3144","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
We primary care clinicians, scholars, and leaders ascribe value to Barbara Starfield's core tenets of primary care-the 4 Cs: first contact, comprehensiveness, coordination, and continuity. In today's era of rapid technological advancements and dwindling resources, what are the implications for face-to-face interactions of patient-clinician relationships? We propose adding a 5th C: "Contiguity." Contiguity-or physical proximity and presence-is a key dimension that not only enables the necessary technical aspects of a physical exam but also authenticates the most human aspects of a relationship and occurs specifically when we are physically vulnerable and responsible for the other before us. This, in turn, may best enable us to bridge difference and nurture trust with our patients. We measure what we value and, thus, naming Contiguity as a core tenet assures that we will not lose sight of this keystone in a patient's relationship with their personal physician.
期刊介绍:
The Annals of Family Medicine is a peer-reviewed research journal to meet the needs of scientists, practitioners, policymakers, and the patients and communities they serve.