Do you hangout with your doctor?

As a primary care physician, owing to COVID, I have noticed the stress levels of my patients going through the roof.  Recently, one of my patients asked me if I could give a lecture on stress management. She was particularly struggling with the stress due to recent changes in her life and found it difficult to navigate through these new changes.  Even as a primary care doctor, I have encountered an immense amount of stress during the pandemic.  

As a result, I chose a Friday evening (today) as a perfect day for a virtual lecture with my patients.  We discussed various coping mechanisms and the sheer reality of life.  It was wonderful to be able to connect with them on a personal level and to find out how they are doing and help them.  We are all in the same boat, but have our own battles to fight.  As a physician, I cannot stress how good it felt to be able to really sit down with my patients without time constraints and help them with their stress. 

Being a Direct Primary Care physician, who is free from the administrative and insurance bureaucracy, I am often able to spend 30-60 minutes with my patients to get to the root of the problem, rather than just putting a band-aid on it.  I am able to identify lifestyle stressors that are contributing to their chronic illness or things that might lead to chronic diseases.  I am able to counsel them on better habits and lifestyles.  Even more importantly, I provide them with care when it is needed and not 2 to 3 months later.  This allows me to nip it in the bud, before it gets worse.  The art of medicine really lies in the sacred patient-physician relationship.  Fortunately, my practice model allows me to savor such a wonderful moment with my patients.