Doctor in the House
“Just Thinking”
I slept poorly one-night last week and woke up with a stiff neck, I’ve had plenty of stiff necks and didn’t think much about it, try to stretch it out and rub on some Bengay (Icy Hot). A couple days went by, and it was still bothering me radiating down to my arm, so I made an appointment with Tina Downtown to get a message. Tina doesn’t speak much English, but I was able to convey that I had a stiff neck and need her to work it out. Tina has hands like a brick layer and forearms like Mark McGuire and she went after it. I suffered through the 45 minutes of torture and had to admit that I felt pretty good going back to the office. During the night, I woke up with my arm on fire, it was just pain resonating from my neck to my figure tips, not the typical stiff neck, Tina struck a nerve.
So here is where I get into my “Just Thinking”, Friday morning I send an email to my doctor describing what is going on. She doesn’t respond but sets up a prescription of steroids for me to pick up and in the notes recommends Tylenol for the pain, gee thanks. This goes on through the weekend, by Wednesday being totally sleep deprived and with some stern encouragement from Tracy I send another email saying that I’m not getting better and ask what I should do, I didn’t hear back by noon, so I went to the ER to play the waiting game with coughing babies and workplace accident victims.
This is where I started thinking about growing up and the doctors that we had. I remember the personal relationship that we had with our family doctor, when Mom would trek us down to Dr. Hommond’s office for a physical before school started and we would line up for our shots. I also remember when one of us got sick our doctor would come to our house to check on us, carrying his big leather bag with his stethoscope, ear and eye checker, tongue depressor, rubber hammer and anything that we needed to make us better. I also have a memory when Dr. Hommond had to give me the talk that he couldn’t treat me anymore I had to move on to the “Big Boy Doctor.”
In the 1960s, doctors making house calls were a routine part of healthcare. This was a much more personal and intimate time with solid relationships between doctors and patients. The general practitioner was a trusted family figure who knew their patients and families’ medical histories. Doctors visited homes to treat common ailments and to provide a personal level of care that is rare today. The doctor would spend some time discussing health issues and providing advice. This system of healthcare was simpler then, with fewer specialists, and often a cash-based payment system. Insurance coverage was rare, and people generally paid out of pocket for doctor visits, which were relatively inexpensive compared to today's costs.
What a transformation from back in the day, HMOs, PPOs, EPOs, multiple specialists for different aspects of care, a far cry from the general practitioner of the 60’s who handled most medical concerns.
Let me know what you think.
@ChuckBarberini - #ChuckBarberiniRealEstate - @ChuckBarberiniRealEstate
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