Let’s start with a simple truth: Medicine is hard.

It’s hard for doctors, and it’s hard for patients. The headaches of today’s health care ecosystem—endless paperwork, shrinking appointment times, and the ever-present shadow of insurance approvals—can make it feel like the heart of medicine is slipping away.

Lost in the system

For years, I practiced in the traditional insurance-based model. I loved being a doctor, but I found myself spending more time on paperwork, coding, and justifying decisions to people who’d never met my patients than I did actually caring for them. Patients, too, felt the strain: rushed visits, confusing bills, and a sense that no one was really listening.

It felt like we were all caught in a machine, where the real choices—about time, about care, about what was best—were being made by someone else. That’s not why I became a doctor, and I’m guessing it’s not why most patients seek out health care.

Escape and reclaiming autonomy.

A decade ago, I made a change. I stepped into the world of direct care, where the relationship between doctor and patient is at the center of everything. Here, I set my own schedule. I spend real time with my patients. I make decisions based on what’s best for them, not what’s best for a faceless system.

Patients, too, have more choice. They can pick their doctor, schedule appointments that fit their lives, and get answers to their questions without feeling rushed. It’s a model that honors the dignity and worth of every person—physician and patient alike.

Let’s be honest: the current system is exhausting.

The constant pressure to see more patients in less time, the endless paperwork, and the feeling that you’re always answering to someone who doesn’t know your patients—it’s enough to make anyone want to throw in the towel.

But here’s the thing: We don’t have to accept it. There are other ways to practice medicine, ways that put people first. The headaches of the system are real, but they’re not inevitable.

Choice is ours to make.

Choice is the thread that runs through all of this. As doctors, we can choose how we practice. As patients, we can choose who we trust with our care. It’s easy to forget, especially when the system feels so big and unyielding, but we all have agency. We all have the power to make a different choice.

So where does that leave us?

The headaches of modern health care are real, but they’re not the end of the story. We have the ability to do something different—to choose a path that puts relationships, dignity, and authenticity at the center.

Whether you’re a doctor or a patient, you can choose to seek out care that respects your time, your expertise, and your humanity.

In direct care, I’m not just a provider. I’m a doctor. And my patients aren’t just numbers. They’re people. That’s the way it should be.

And that, at the end of the day, for me, it’s a choice worth making!

Grace Torres-Hodges is a podiatrist.