You come home one day to find your mother down with cold and cough. You get onto to your laptop and frantically search for a doctor close by. You type in "lung specialist" and find all the hospitals close by with pulmonologists on their roster. You then rush to the hospital for your appointment, meet the doctor for a few minutes only to find out it is a simple sore throat. When I come across such stories, I often wonder, could this not have been dealt by a general physician? With the abundance of information available on the internet combined with dispensable income, people are branching out to seek specialist advice directly. This is stark contrast to the scenario 20-30 years ago, when the family doctor was the first point of contact. He knew everyone in the family and he knew their medical history inside and out. People would consult with the family physician, who'd either treat them or refer them to the appropriate specialist. In this digital era, the general physician has become an outdated concept!

While there is nothing wrong in consulting a specialist or super-specialist directly, it is often unnecessary. Most cases can be easy handled by a general physician, and one seldom needs to visit a hospital to consult one! Most of them work out of clinics in your vicinity, making them accessible and affordable. The main advantage, however, is the personal experience once receives. Most general physicians spend a good amount of time understanding you problem, clearing your doubts, and treating you appropriately. If you require to be seen by a specialist, he/she would suggest a peer they trust, just so that you get the best care possible.

This is the role a family doctor plays, well "used to".

Being a general physician myself, I come across several cases asking to be seen by specialists. One such case of headache came to the clinic, asking for a neurologist. Since we didn’t have one available, they directed the case to me. On speaking to the patient, it turns out he is on blood pressure medications. On checking his BP, it was elevated, which was probably causing his headache. A simple modification of the drug dose solved the problem! This is not to beat down the specialists out there, not by a long shot! This is mainly to emphasize the need for family physicians, especially as the first point of contact. This not only reduces the unnecessary stress on patients, it also helps develop a healthy camaraderie amongst doctors.

The takeaway point is this- not every chest pain is a heart attack, not every case of headache is a brain bleed, and not every tummy ache is appendicitis. This simple distinction can be done by your family doctor, so let’s bring the concept back. Let healthcare be physician centric, just the way it was always intended to be.

Dr Amulya Cherukumudi

MBBS, MS Pursuing MCh in cardiothoracic surgery .

amicool91@gmail.com