I owed you an article yesterday, but the day got away from me. Ever have that happen. When I was working in the office, the day never got away from me. I was smart and designed a “no appointment necessary” practice so when I walked into the room, I was on time!
No appointments meant I was always on time. I loved it as did most of you. In everyday life, I’m so timely I drive my wife and family nuts. If I’m supposed to be at your house at 7 pm, I’m cruising the neighborhood at 6:50 knock and on your door a seven. Unfortunately, doing “well care” on a walk-in basis did not work well so I eventually added a limited amount of appointments.
When I added Concierge Medicine to the practice, I added more appointments but started them prior to opening in the morning so I could be on time. All was well initially but, as the practice aged, the need for appointments increased. Like well care, taking care of chronic disease is better achieved by appointment medicine.
As you can see, there is no perfect practice style that fits everyone and that is the point of this article. Customization is the ideal in medicine, dieting, exercise and just about everything. Unfortunately, in medicine, it is next to impossible. If you practice by appointment, you either stick to the schedule cutting appointments off when necessary, or you run late. If you practice walk-in medicine, getting the patient back for the follow up appointment is like pulling teeth.
That reminds me of a story. In Mexico, the dental students worked alongside of us (the medical students). They were almost all females, and most were too weak to pull a tooth out, so they had us help them. It seemed like the treatment for every dental complaint was to pull the tooth so we got a lot of experience. Needless to say, there were a lot of toothless people wherever we went. The cost of doing the same thing for everyone in Mexico is losing your teeth (the hard way)!
I’m 2 pounds down in 1 week and doing well. It’s not easy. I’m customizing my diet, tailoring it to my new lifestyle and environment. I miss my Chicago favorites but being away from them helps. I’m going out of my way not to make new Carolina favorites. I’m getting a lot of support from my readers and I want to thank you all. I will keep you appraised of my successes and failures.
Now to find a doc who customizes his/her practice to the patient’s needs. I need some one who will listen to me. I need someone I can be comfortable listening to. While I would love to find doc who is on time, I’m too old to believe in fairy tales. I’m working hard at being positive.
Here’s your music for the day. Click on underlined words for song. Here’s your joke of the day:
Mickey – “Teacher, do farts have lumps.”
Teacher – “No Mickey, farts are not lumpy.”
Mickey – “Then I shat in my pants.”
