The Way It Should Be

I photographed this upbeat, clever public health poster while in the waiting room at my doctor's practice this afternoon. I've always gone to family practice physicians, and Dr W. is one of the very best I've had over the past 40+ years. 

When he walked into the exam room, he said "I've been looking forward to this all day!" and I felt the same way. Dr. W. is young enough to be my son, but age makes no difference between us. He respects my medical knowledge, gleaned over several decades as a writer and editor in major medical centers, and enables me to be a full partner in decisions about my present and future health care. That means a great deal to me. I respect his training, intelligence, compassion, and outstanding communication skills.

Today I was there for my annual "Medicare Wellness Visit," not a health issue. This involved reviewing my health over the past year and recent routine lab results, and talking about routine screenings coming up in 2015. We also enjoyed chatting about travel, another interest we share in common. He and his wife have two young sons, and every other year they leave the United States for their vacation. This year they went to France, and particularly enjoyed their time in Carcassonne, which is in the same region that Phil and I love.

I feel deeply grateful to have this superb health care, thanks to Medicare and the excellent health insurance from my employer that I carried into retirement. What a difference it would make to this country if everyone had the same! Preventive medicine and early intervention when problems occur is much more cost-effective than using hospital emergency rooms, the only resource countless Americans have.

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