Every time I turn on the television, there’s another commercial for a new drug treating a condition I’ve never even heard of.

It’s constant. And honestly, it’s exhausting.

I can’t help but wonder: What happened to real care?

I remember a time, 35, maybe 40 years ago, when doctors knew your name. They looked you in the eye. They read your chart. They listened to what you had to say before deciding. They were not tethered to computers or rushing off to the next patient. They were not afraid to say, “Let us take a closer look and figure this out together.” That kind of care was not perfect, but it was human. It was real.

Today, the system feels cold. Rushed. Distant. People are being seen for ten minutes, handed a prescription, and sent out the door, often without feeling seen at all. And far too often, medications seem to cause as much harm as help. The list of side effects goes on forever, but they are glossed over like an afterthought.

We have created a system that overly relies on medication, underinvests in listening, and treats patients as patterns instead of people. Risk factors have become assumptions. Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer. Not everyone with a high A1c is diabetic. The human body is complex. And people are even more so. Diagnosis should not be based on guesswork, algorithms, or stereotypes. It should come from connection.

Here’s what I would love to see and what I believe many others want too:

A doctor who knows me by name.

A doctor who reads my chart before walking in the room.

A doctor who listens more than they type.

A doctor who uses medicine thoughtfully, not automatically.

A doctor with enough experience and enough time to see me as a whole person, not a billing code.

Healing starts with trust. And trust doesn’t come from a prescription pad! Trust comes from presence. It comes from being taken seriously, being heard, and being treated like a human being, not a potential lawsuit or a pharmaceutical sales target.

I know the system is complicated. I know providers are under pressure, too. Furthermore, I know nothing about the medical field. However, as a patient, I know if the medical industry continues going down the road with more drugs, less care, we are going to lose something sacred: The relationship at the heart of healing.

In my opinion, the time has come to stop treating health care like a business and remember what it’s supposed to be: care.

Christopher H. Foster is a director of emergency services.