Transforming primary care to spend extra time with patients
When I started my internal medicine residency, I was pretty sure I was going to rock this primary care thing. I knew the drugs for hypertension, the guidelines for diabetes management, and depression management seemed like nothing more than an algorithm. I felt buoyed by familiarity as I looked at the problem list for my first primary care patient: basically diabetes, hypertension, and depression.
As I opened the exam room door that early July day, I …