In the last decade literature focused on a “less is more” approach has been primarily represented by clinical cases describing the excesses of an aggressive, redundant, non-personalized, and non-respectful medicine. Most of these articles focus on a “more is worse” approach and centre around the downstream negative consequences of medical overuse. Having identified a gap in the literature on the experience and practice of less, rather than the harms of excess, we carried out an exploratory qualitative study into how a “less is more” approach works in practice. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was adopted to allow us to examine the realm of lived experience as a valid data source and as a path from which to understand a “less is more” approach “from the bedside.” A Phenomenology of Practice was chosen as a more specific frame for this research because of its added focus on action and practical application in professional settings. Seventy stories written by physicians, patients, nurses, caregivers, and other health professionals have been received and analysed. These stories were gathered as part of a project called “Slow Stories” which aimed to collect clinical cases that have been positively resolved by adopting a “less is more” approach to patient care. After having conducted an in-depth analysis, separately and as a group, the researchers identified five key phenomenological themes; Time to relate is time to heal; Doing more does not mean doing better; Settings for a slow medicine; Slow care at the end of life; and Personalized vs. standardized treatment. Each of these themes offers insights into how a “less is more” approach can be used in practice and illustrates how a “less is more” strategy can play a significant role in positively resolving certain clinical cases.

在过去的十年中，关注“少即是多”方法的文献主要以临床案例为代表，描述了过度的侵略性、冗余、非个性化和不尊重的医学。这些文章大多数都关注“越多越好”的方法，并围绕医疗过度使用的下游负面后果。在确定了文献中关于“少即是多”的经验和实践而不是过度的危害的差距后，我们对“少即是多”的方法如何在实践中发挥作用进行了探索性定性研究。采用解释学现象学方法，使我们能够将生活经验领域作为有效的数据源和“从床边”理解“少即是多”方法的路径。实践现象学被选为这项研究的更具体的框架，因为它更加关注专业环境中的行动和实际应用。已收到并分析了由医生、患者、护士、护理人员和其他卫生专业人员撰写的 70 个故事。这些故事是作为“慢故事”项目的一部分收集的，该项目旨在收集通过采用“少即是多”的患者护理方法而得到积极解决的临床病例。在单独和集体进行深入分析后，研究人员确定了五个关键的现象学主题；建立联系的时间就是治愈的时间；做得更多并不意味着做得更好；慢药的设置；临终时缓慢护理；个性化治疗与标准化治疗。 每个主题都提供了如何在实践中使用“少即是多”方法的见解，并说明了“少即是多”策略如何在积极解决某些临床病例中发挥重要作用。