Dr. Charles writes on the importance of primary care:
I chose to become a family doctor for many reasons, but foremost among these was the fact that I believed in the specialty. The family doctors I learned from knew their patients not simply as anonymous diseases and puzzles from which to profit, but rather as spirited and poetically unique individuals with whom building a continuous doctor-patient relationship would provide the best care.
Sure, they rushed from room to room, and they mourned the loss of face-to-face time our crazy healthcare system stripped from them… but they enjoyed the challenges of managing complicated lists of problems, sorting through conflicting medicines prescribed by different specialists, being on the frontlines of diagnosis, and providing a sensible home base for their patients amid the impersonal and fragmented world of American healthcare.
