Modern medicine is in danger of losing a powerful, old-fashioned tool: human touch. Physician and writer Abraham Verghese describes our strange new world where patients are merely data points, and calls for a return to the traditional one-on-one physical exam. His talk is sponsored by the 2013-2014 Dr. Joe Thorne Gilbert Lectureship, The University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences and Health Professions office.

Dr. Abraham Verghese, senior associate chair in Stanford University's School of Medicine, is a nationally bestselling author and a prominent voice in medicine with a uniquely humanistic view of the future of healthcare. “The most important innovation in medicine to come in the next 10 years: the power of the human hand,” he said during his 2011 TED Talk. His memoirs and novels on medical themes have sold millions of copies, topped bestseller lists, and earned major movie deals, while his New York Times articles arguing for greater focus on the physical patient have made waves in the medical community. His warmth and vision as well as his world-class gifts as a storyteller make him a powerful speaker both to healthcare professionals and the patient in all of us.

For more about the Joe Thorne Gilbert Lectureship series, visit: http://cns.utexas.edu/health-professions/events-workshops/joe-thorne-gilbert-lecture-series