Doctors Treat Disease, Patients Suffer Illness: The Disconnect In How We View What Ails Us

Breaking the Code

Modern medical practice has focused on the identification and treatment of biological processes, to great success but at the cost of human engagement. We focus on "disease" as a biological process, but often fail to address the human suffering from that disease. In social sciences, we call this the difference between "disease", the biological process, and "illness", the experience of living with a disease.
In this episode we explore the concepts of “disease” versus “illness”, what makes them different, how the modern practice dynamic leads to a focus on the former and the increasing exclusion of the latter. We discuss how we, as communications experts, are perfectly positioned to bridge the divide and “fill the gap” between biology and personal experience.

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