| My Favorite Doctor, Marcus Welby, M.D. Beginning in 1969, Robert Young starred as a family practitioner with a kind heart and superb bedside manner in the hit TV series “Marcus Welby, M.D.” He was a doctor that epitomized what we all want, a doctor that’s patient, unhurried, and professional. He was a doctor that listened to patients as long as was necessary to understand the patient's symptoms and complaints. He was the picture of a holistic doctor – the type of doctor who could practically heal you with a touch. For many of us, this type of doctor we wish we had today. Unfortunately, today's health care is a mess. It’s a medical system that rewards procedures rather than health. It’s a system that rewards neither prevention nor watchful waiting. Granted, practicing medicine has become more complex over the years. There are many more options for treatments, a growing older population, and a shift toward treating ever more complex problems with evermore expensive medicines. As Government tries to keep a lid on cost, the regulatory environment spawns armies of bureaucrats to complicate doctor’s lives. The fallout is more doctors getting fed up with a system that gives them less time with patients and more time fighting with insurance companies to get paid. Complicating the supply of new doctors is low pay that drives those aspiring to primary care into specialties. Family doctors, pediatricians and general internists and podiatrist are among the lowest-paid physicians. Increasingly doctors find themselves spending time on paperwork to get paid, phone calls and reviewing lab results—work that does not get reimbursed. With this as the daily ritual more are planning early retirement or an alternate career. The solution to improving health care hasn't been found yet. It’s unlikely that a one-size-fits-all approach will ever be reached. As an alternative to this dysfunctional system, many now turn to concierge medicine. Tell Me More about Concierge Physicians in Huntsville, Alabama. Exit |