The quiet in today’s waiting rooms isn’t just about efficiency. It may signal something deeper: burnout, loss of autonomy, and the erosion of the doctor–patient relationship that once defined medicine.
Dr. Varon explores what’s really happening behind the scenes, and what we lose when physicians walk away in his latest Brownstone op-ed. (link in comments)
Have you noticed the quiet exodus?
Link to article https://brownstone.org/articles/the-silence-of-the-waiting-rooms
About 8 years ago, while living in MA, my Primary Care MD was retiring. I was sorry to see him go. He was a no nonsense guy, but he at east recognized a valid question or point from his patients. He was outspoken about his frustrations with his profession, in particular how he had to rush through with all his patients. There was immense pressure to move quantity through the system; quality was secondary. He couldn’t wait to leave it behind and hit the golf course. Already at that time it was almost impossible to find MDs accepting new patients, so I accepted his replacement without a peep (even though he was a letdown). Here in KY it’s more that family practices are thin in the rural area that I live in, and it is dominated by one hospital system. you take what’s available, or you travel. I have a 4 hour round trip drive to see an integrative physician in IN. There are also more choices in Cincinnati; also 4 hours round trip. As frustrating as this is, I would not trade where we live now to be closer to a major city.
Exact same experience here in Florida. I finally found a doctor to atleast listen and talk about my concerns without forcing statins, etc on me. I am a hands on and do research because no one knows my body better than me. After only seeing her for a couple of months, she leaves the practice because headquarters were requiring doctors to limit visits to 15 minutes per patient and double booking appointments. I could not accept her replacement who barely spoke english and talked over me while I was speaking! It is a sad state of affairs. Functional medical doctors and naturopaths hourly rates are beyond my means.
That’s a shame. It’s exactly what happened with that MA doctor I mentioned. His bosses pulled the same move. I have an OK regular doctor here in KY, but I’ve heard his wife is after him to retire. I don’t know what I’ll do then. There are mostly females left in that practice. Yes the integrative services don’t come cheap, especially with no insurance coverage. But my wife and I decided it made more sense to pay for care that might cure me, rather than go broke paying our portion of treatments that will likely kill me and/or make what time I have left miserable (surgery, radiation, chemo). So we’re playing both sides: taking what Medicare will cover in the way of drugs, and getting alternative treatments elsewhere at our expense.
@hiddenhill Thank you for sharing here. It feels like there are so many in the same or very similar situation.