The Patient-Doctor Relationship in Hepatology

Dr. Mary Rinella, a transplant hepatologist, talks with Dr. Adam Cifu about the human side of caring for patients with complex liver disease. She describes how she approaches patients who arrive guarded or resistant and how digging into the fear that drives their behavior helps her build trust with them. The conversation touches on the time she invests in nurturing those relationships and how that closeness often includes patients’ families, especially when she is helping them through difficult moments. Later in the discussion she reflects on the loss of a patient and the emotional weight of that experience, especially given the bonds she forms with both patients and their families.

What is The Clinical Excellence Podcast?

The Clinical Excellent Podcast, sponsored by the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence is a biweekly podcast hosted by Drs. Adam Cifu and Matthew Sorrentino. The podcast has three formats: discussions between doctors and patients, discussions with authors of research pertinent to improving clinical care and the doctor-patient relationship and discussions with physicians about challenges in the doctor-patient relationship or in the life of a physician.