Family Medicine Notes ...

It's been a whils since I've made a substantive entry about family medicine.  Here goes:

I've been very busy lately with a project I can't discuss at all.  It's very exciting and rather all-consuming and for those of you who have been follwing this weblog (if there are any of you left!) .. I can say that it's an opportunity for me to help provide something to healthcare that I've been whining about for a long time.  I'm doing my best to walk-the-walk rather than just talk-the-talk.

This may explain the paucity of posts lately.  As Dave has suggested recently, blogging has matured, and so has medical blogging.  Back in 1999 and 2000, there were a handful of medical bloggers (literally!) and we all had a bit of a role in educating each other and the world about what is is that physicians do, think, read, etc.  This was - from my view - a primary purpose of medical blooging: to enhance the transparency of our profession.

But there's lots of that now.  Hundreds (thousands?) of medlical bloggers are posting daily and - frankly - I don't think the Internet needs me anymore.  Hmm .. that sounded rather egocentric! .. oh well.

So I'll continue to post as a I can .. and hope to spring interesting and compelling observations on occasion .. but I doubt I'll be back to daily blogging again unless I find myself with fewer jobs or a renewed sense of mission for the blog.

This week in the office was (as usual?) psychiatry week.  Lots of psychosocial problems interwoven with my patients' health problems.  Them man with the heart attack last week is certain that stress is the primary factor that caused the event.  I don't disagree.  His hypertension and hyperlipidemia were "at goal" thanks to my prescriptions of a statin and antihypertensive ...yet my prescriptions for counseling, weight loss and exercise were never implemented and this event was -- as he put it "my 9/11."  Time to heed the issues he had set aside for too long.

The first intervention turned out to be a family meeting for 2.5 hours yesterday in the office.  Stress reduction was the primary focus, but it was clear form our conversations that he and his wife have fogotten to be friends recently.  I found myself teaching a "how to talk so spouse will listen." workshop. 

It's a long process to learn new skills and un-learn old habits.

Comments

[pegadoc]

Well, I have been following your blog for a few months (quiet months). I wish you luck with your ultra secret and exciting and productive new contribution to society and the world of medicine! I'll keep you bookmarked so I can learn about it when you're ready to tell. Best to you!

[Angela Hadley]

Thanks for your candid conversations about your world as a physician. It is very interesting and I look forward to more conversations.