Physicians’ brain scans indicate doctors can feel their patients’ pain and their relief

Physicians’ brain scans indicate doctors can feel their patients’ pain and relief.

A patient’s relationship with his or her doctor has long been considered an important component of healing. Now, in a novel investigation in which physicians underwent brain scans while they believed they were actually treating patients, researchers have provided the first scientific evidence indicating that doctors truly can feel their patients’ pain – and can also experience their relief following treatment.

The findings also showed that the physicians who reported greater ability to take things from the patients’ perspective, that is, to empathize with patients’ feelings, experienced higher satisfaction during patients’ treatments, as reflected in the brain scans.