Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

This physician misses seeing his patients

Anthony Fleg, MD
Physician
February 24, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

As I finished the endless clicking, the clinic day came to a close.

Clicking to begin and end phone visits.

Clicking to get on and off Zoom visits.

The endless video game clicking that is life as a physician documenting electronic health records. Too bad I have never been a gamer; maybe some who are can imagine amidst all of this they are in a scene from a Nintendo or Playstation classic.

Clicking boxes to satisfy coders, billers. Clicking to verify my RVUs and my worth as a cog in the health system machine. Clicking to keep insurance companies from refusing to pay.

Clicking to help my patients? Not sure.

I sighed with exhaustion.

100 percent show rate. Again.

I whisper, “I miss the no-shows from pre-COVID,” hoping that Hippocrates doesn’t hear me. (If a well-intentioned, all-alone pandemic physician whispers this in the woods, does the tree that falls actually make a sound?)

In primary care, those no-shows gave us a chance to catch our breath. They afforded us a break from all the clicking. A chance to rush to the bathroom or say hi to a colleague.

Now, there is no such reprieve. We sit and see one after another. Often, a day in the clinic goes by without even a conversation with anyone beyond my medical assistant. I barely move, mustering a few hundred steps in a full workday.

I try to convince ourselves that we are doing “real” medicine, having a “real” connection.

The only thing “real,” at least at the end of this day, is two hands tired from clicking.

You know, it is not no-shows that I really miss.

I miss seeing real people, including that tense excitement before entering the patient room, neither doctor nor patient quite sure what to expect.

ADVERTISEMENT

I miss real in-person moments with my patients – tears of joy and sadness shed together. Tears just don’t happen the same in virtual visits.

I miss the chance to gently place the stethoscope bell on the elder’s chest.

I miss checking the infant’s rash to then reassure parents it isn’t life-threatening like Google had told them it was.

I wonder if my patients miss seeing me nearly as much as I miss seeing them.

Anthony Fleg is a family physician who blogs at Writing to Heal.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

What happens to your child's brain when you nag

February 24, 2021 Kevin 3
…
Next

6 ways to build trust with communities of color when distributing the COVID-19 vaccine

February 24, 2021 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
What happens to your child's brain when you nag
Next Post >
6 ways to build trust with communities of color when distributing the COVID-19 vaccine

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Anthony Fleg, MD

  • Why adults need to rediscover the power of play

    Anthony Fleg, MD
  • Assess your tech health in 2023: How screen use is affecting your life and ways to improve

    Anthony Fleg, MD
  • Reflecting on health and wellness: Celebrating the wins and learning from the losses

    Anthony Fleg, MD

Related Posts

  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Why health care replaced physician care

    Michael Weiss, MD
  • Are patients using social media to attack physicians?

    David R. Stukus, MD
  • Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Where are the patients? 

    Jennifer M. Sweeney
  • More physician responsibility for patient care

    Michael R. McGuire
  • Health care needs more physician CEOs

    Alexi Nazem, MD

More in Physician

  • Why more doctors are choosing direct care over traditional health care

    Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA
  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

    Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH
  • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...