Johnny’s disabled. He can’t get to my office anymore. So I drive 100 miles up the Oregon coast to check in on him. I get lost, but finally discover his little white house on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
“Last time a doctor come to my house,
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I’ve always been a people watcher. Now I get paid to spy on folks. I have to ask detailed, personal questions. Sometimes I even snoop around patients’ homes.
In the 1930s nearly half of all patient visits were house calls. Now most patients are rushed through ten-minute office visits.
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Fact: Doctors want to help people.
Fact: Some people take advantage of doctors.
A doctor in Oregon shares this case: “I had an old man with cancer. He kept complaining of pain as I was increasing his opiate pain medication,
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Tom is diabetic, asthmatic, and broke. He’s back for a checkup.
“I take my Metformin every morning with my grits,” he says, “but I don’t need no refill. I just got me some Metformin XR.”
“How did you get extended release?
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So you think your medicine is natural. Ever wonder what’s inside? A product can be labeled “natural” if the main ingredient is from an animal, plant, or mineral. Arsenic, horse urine, and cow brain are natural. But are they natural for you?
Here are four drugs whose origins may surprise you:
Insulin was discovered in 1922.
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I’m a doctor. And doctors aren’t squeamish. We love blood and guts. But not all docs can handle genitalia.
In med school, a gay classmate was completely grossed out by gynecology. When I asked how things were going, he said, “After this month, I never want to see another vagina again.”
Some docs find respite in specialties.
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As a doctor, it’s my job to figure out what patients really need. Some need antibiotics. Some need pain pills. But everyone needs love.
During med school I cared for burned children. One of my patients was a 3-year-old with severe burns over most of his body.
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Rob got a cat bite. Then a swollen hand. He goes to the ER, gets antibiotics, then develops itching. So he calls me for advice.
A few days later, I get this e-mail: “The itching from the antibiotics went away as you said it would.
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Most docs aren’t happy. I wasn’t either. Until I left assembly-line medicine.
In 2004, I held town hall meetings where I invited citizens to design their own ideal clinic. I collected 100 pages of testimony, adopted 90 percent of feedback, and we opened one month later.
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Ever felt misjudged by a doctor? Or treated unfairly by a clinic or hospital? You may be a victim of patient profiling.
Patient profiling is the practice of regarding particular patients as more likely to have certain behaviors or illnesses based on their appearance, race, gender, financial status,
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Meet Damien, my Facebook friend, photographer, and IT guy.
This morning, he messages me: “I would like to make an appointment.”
I reply: “For?”
“High blood pressure :(.”
I offer to see him,
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On random Fridays, clients are showered with extra affection to celebrate “Patient Appreciation Day.” I surprise the unsuspecting visitors with dark-chocolate hearts and Mylar heart-shaped balloons as they enter the office. This is in addition to the gifts many receive for meeting their health goals.
Sitting on the couch next to her balloon,
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Doctor revived after suicide. Here's what he says.
