Doctors and modern headaches

I've just come in from dealing with Big Medicine, and I can say I'm glad I'm not really sick. It's bad enough just getting a few x-rays. If I had something seriously wrong and had to make numerous clinic/practice visits I would really have to start TM again in a serious way just to maintain my cool. Running around from place to place, crowds of people in enormous waiting rooms, and utter impersonality are the order of the day. It seems like ancient history when I think of how a doctor's visit used to be.

I remember all of the doctors I ever went to when I was growing up because there were only three of them, and they handled everything. The first one I remember is my pediatrician, Dr. Davis. When he retired I graduated to the doctor my mother and father saw, Dr. Nicholson. He also soon retired; his practice was taken over by another doctor, just down the road, who happend to be the one other people in our extended family saw, so that was an easy switch. Dr. Beatty was my doctor from my pre-teens until I went away with the Peace Corps in my 20s. No appointment was necessary; when you needed to see him you just walked into his waiting room, checked in with Mrs. Beatty, who served as her husband's office administrator and receptionist, and had a seat. She greeted you like the old friend you were and chatted with you while you waited. Soon enough, you were called in, and you sat and had another "family" visit with Dr. Beatty. He knew my parents and aunts and uncles and all their medical issues, therefore what to look out for in me. He did x-rays, lab work, and simple things like wart removal (I had a lot of warts when I was a kid) right there in his office; it was truly one-stop shopping for routine medical issues. In retrospect, he could have been from Central Casting as the wise, avuncular gentleman who gave gentle advice and took the scariness out of a doctor visit. I'm not talking about small-town America here, either, where you'd expect everybody to know everybody else. This was Northern Virginia, essentially the same sprawling, sophisticated, resource-rich urban area it is today, but with fewer people. In the 1950s and '60s, that kind of medical care was still available, even in a big place like this.

Those of us who remember and lament the loss of those days have been complaining about it for decades, and we know they are gone forever. Still, our memories of what used to be inform the choices we make now and certainly our reactions to the cold, corporate atmosphere we all must deal with today. I'm lucky that the doctor I see now is as friendly and trustworthy as Dr. Beatty was, but I pay for that luxury. I'm in an HMO, but it's "open access." I can choose whatever private physician I want, as long s/he is approved by my plan. Being able to choose is a privilege worth the extra premium, and I'm under no illusions about how lucky I am to be able to afford it. I once tried a traditional HMO, where the doctor was not in private practice but was an employee of the institution. I didn't like the impersonality of that arrangement; the memory of my long relationship with Dr. Beatty sent me elsewhere fast.

I don't think this "ordeal," such as it is, will last too long. I should have the results of the x-rays and blood tests next week and my doc and I will take it from there. Whatever is causing these aches and pains, I doubt if it's serious; I'll either be treated directly by my main doctor or by a specialist, whom I'll also be able to choose. Knock wood, things will stay this simple for a long time.