Gone are the days of house calls by doctors like Marcus Welby, MD and the like. Or are they? I recently treated someone at home, a neighbor of my community that was bed-ridden with back pain. I am not an MD, but people come to see me when they are in pain or when they just don’t “feel right.”
I was able to bring my skills to her home and get her some relief. The patient had expressed such urgency as Christmas was approaching and she had so much to accomplish to get her house in order for some out-of-town guests. After the holiday, she made sure to let me know that her entire family had a great Christmas!
It just so happens that another community neighbor is much worse shape also needed a home visit. This time I was not successful in alleviating his pain. The condition was more serious. However, it did not stop me from trying and offering suggestions out-side of my skillset.
The point is that many healers, allopathic, holistic, alternative and others have lost sight of the fact that people are seeking to improve their quality of life when they reach out to providers.
I spent over a decade with many like-minded clinicians that would think “outside the box” because that was their charge. Doctors are not just responsible to the primary complaint but are responsible to offer a pathway toward resolving complaints beyond their talents.
There are countless times during my career that I have referred patients to other chiropractors because I was not a good fit and knew they could be helped by a colleague.
The point of this blog two-fold: I hope to tap into the compassionate part of any provider lost in the weeds of their own practice, the provider so caught up in managed care and administrative numbers, in order to truly provide care to their patients beyond the next script or follow up visit.
Also, for any patient wondering why my doctor doesn’t seem to hear all my complaints, just the immediate one.
I do not have the answer, but I will keep on doing my best to help anyone that seeks my services.
