Could not have put it better! I wonder if Hatt Mancock has ever actually spent time in a busy GP surgery seeing the breadth and complexity of what we do? Our job is nuanced, that is the art of it, and why 'being clever' is not enough. My working relationship with my patients is what has given me so much pleasure and job satisfaction over the years. Physical, social, psychological, spiritual. Some love us, some can't stand us, the feeling is mutual and it can evolve over the years in ways that can surprise and move us. We are more than an app or an algorithm. I've recently retired after 30y as a partner (in three practices - UK, NZ, UK) and am now locuming for colleagues at my practice till the magic 60y comes - then it will be NZ again. No way could I practise the way we are expected to do now, safely, with patients I don't know, for all the reasons Helen presents. I know many of our patients feel the same, and value the familiarity of a voice of someone who knows them and their story. We undervalue the doctor / patient relationship at our peril. 'We don't know what we don't know' applies to teleconsultations as much as it does in so many other areas of medicine.
Rapid Response:
Re: Helen Salisbury: Teleconsultations for all
Could not have put it better! I wonder if Hatt Mancock has ever actually spent time in a busy GP surgery seeing the breadth and complexity of what we do? Our job is nuanced, that is the art of it, and why 'being clever' is not enough. My working relationship with my patients is what has given me so much pleasure and job satisfaction over the years. Physical, social, psychological, spiritual. Some love us, some can't stand us, the feeling is mutual and it can evolve over the years in ways that can surprise and move us. We are more than an app or an algorithm. I've recently retired after 30y as a partner (in three practices - UK, NZ, UK) and am now locuming for colleagues at my practice till the magic 60y comes - then it will be NZ again. No way could I practise the way we are expected to do now, safely, with patients I don't know, for all the reasons Helen presents. I know many of our patients feel the same, and value the familiarity of a voice of someone who knows them and their story. We undervalue the doctor / patient relationship at our peril. 'We don't know what we don't know' applies to teleconsultations as much as it does in so many other areas of medicine.
Competing interests: No competing interests