Doctor Paul, MD

A small-town doctor working to preserve the art of old-fashioned primary care.

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Is “old-fashioned medicine” really old-fashioned?

August 7, 2014 by Paul Williams Leave a Comment

Nostalgia can be misleading, memories biased. Medicine before the advent of antibiotics, lead to many premature deaths. Many people died then what few die of now: appendicitis, pneumonia, sinus infections, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, and many more.

When people refer to old-fashioned medicine, they are referring not to the science of medicine but the art of practicing medicine. When patients are surveyed today, the best doctors in their eyes are not the smartest, the best surgeons, but in fact the most empathetic, caring, and have old-fashioned bedside manner. The art is at the heart:
– We know you, are your friend, confidant, adviser, and help you get through illnesses or manage them.
– We listen, ask, and try to decipher your symptoms.
– We share your life by listening to your stories, laughs, joys, pains and struggles.
– We understand your wishes, your end of life concerns, how much modern medicine you want to undergo
– We are empathetic to the burden the business of medicine puts on you.
– Our time is yours and we give you our best.

The application of empathy, compassion, and connection is what is called old-fashioned, because it is missing in the rushed, cattle drive of depersonalized medicine. Today we don’t get paid for the art of practicing medicine …. or, do we?? In fact, it is the “art” that pays valuable returns – the treasure that is priceless, and it has nothing to do with money.

No, “old-fashioned medicine” isn’t really old-fashioned, it is exactly the kind of thing we all need in all facets of life.

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About Doctor Paul

Dr. Paul Williams, MD is a small-town family practice doctor working in Centralia, Washington. He works from the same office where his primary care practice was established by his father over 38 years ago. He believes strongly that the art of the old-fashioned primary care doctor is an important feature of our medical system that should be preserved and protected from excess interference from insurance companies and government regulation alike.

Due to changes in the health care industry and regulations affecting it, and in an effort to preserve the art of old-fashioned primary care, Dr. Paul has shifted his practice to a Direct Care model, meaning that patients pay an affordable monthly fee to purchase primary care health care services directly, rather than having their services billed through an insurance company.

This blog is intended to help Dr. Paul's patients (and anyone else!) understand the changes the medical industry is going through, and to provide information about the Direct Care model of primary care.

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