A rapidly aging correctional population has led to an increasing number of patients with serious progressive and terminal illnesses in correctional settings. "Compassionate release" describes a range of policies offering early release or parole to incarcerated patients with serious or debilitating illnesses. However, in many states that have compassionate release policies, few patients are actu...

This is a short commentary to the editorial issued by Marianna Fotaki, entitled: "Why and how is compassion necessary to provide good quality healthcare." It introduces the necessity of a more cognitive approach to explore further the determinants of behavior towards compassionate care. It raises questions about the importance of training towards a more patient-care and values driven healthcare...

BACKGROUND Poetry plays an age-old role in the art of healing. Although medicine today seems distant from the world of poetic expression, there are surprising commonalities between the two. OBJECTIVES In this essay we reflect on three aspects of healing that are fostered by poetry. OBSERVATIONS Practicing medicine with too many facts and not enough poetry leads to dissatisfaction, disappoin...

Background: Compassion, and its close counterparts empathy and kindness, are increasingly being recognized as essential dimensions of a quality health care experience, with further evidence demonstrating that they can be developed behaviors. This has spurred the creation of a number of curricula and tools for teaching empathy and compassionate communication, however many of these curricula appr...