Where has the family physician vanished?

[sharmilaraopn]

Anjana had dizziness and minor block out. For which she should have gone to a family physician. But frantic calls were made to family neurologist, who in turn pulled strings and got her an appointment with another neurologist at Bangalore, all the tests were conducted, after which the neurologist sent her to the ENT guy. Then guess what, the ENT chap diagnoses a middle ear infection three days of medication and she is fine.
Anjana is not the only case this has been happening quite often these days.
Infact we were having an interdisciplinary medicine seminar which was open to public, one patient how do we know what stream of medicine to choose? Was her query.
When my daughter fell ill, I took her to the paediatrician, she told me “doctor we would prescribed antibiotics, knowing your dislike for them and that antibiotic is not very essential I recommend you take her to a homeopath.” Physicians do it you know refer to alternate systems.
Most doctors have got into a routine of number of tests, we have become technicians and not healers anymore. Gone are the days when you took your cough and cold to the doctor at the end of the street who gave you pink, or red syrups. And listened to your mother-in-law problems.
In smaller towns to a certain extent the void is handled by the ayurvedic physicians.
I dread to think of the day when family practise will become fashionable again as a speciality, the post graduate course will contain, practise management, patient record maintenance, and psychiatry as part of the curriculum.
For the truth is the physician is only a facilitator, of healing which has to occur from within the patient.