As another New Year begins, I see this as a time for reflection, redirection, and transformation. A time for taking stock in what works for us and being brave enough to let go of what does not serve us. As a physician, I am also taking a moment to truly assess the healthcare landscape in which I work within. Recently, I recently read an article by Dr Dhruv Khullar entitled The Role of Doctors is Changing Forever, and was hit by his description of a healthcare “market” that is increasingly saturated with transactional “a la carte” online services and AI bots making diagnoses and outlining care. Physicians are being pushed aside as thought leaders and authority figures in the medical field, and patient trust is at its lowest point in decades, a sad commentary of the direction of the doctor-patient relationship in the United States.
In the article, Dr Khullar suggests that it is time for health care providers and doctors to “think of ourselves NOT as the high priests of health care but as what we have always been: healers”. And this resonated with me. Doctors and other health care professionals need to consider “reinventing” ourselves by creating a new vision for the care that we provide, offering patients a skillful, science-based perspective in a safe, compassionate space. We must become partners in navigating this confusing medical landscape which is full of pitfalls and half-truths.
So as the world shifts and information expands, so must healthcare’s role in this. As medical professionals, we need to develop trusting relationships with our patients to help navigate the confusing healthcare landscape together. I am grateful that Northern Virginia Family Practice allows me the space to provide this for my patients. I like to sometimes think of myself as a guide – meeting patients where they are at in their healthcare journey and offering my professional perspective, grounded in science and experience, but ultimately the path is the patient’s to take. As Richard Baron, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine, stated “How we do things changes all the time, what we do never does.” Being there for the patient when they need us is, and always has been, our calling.
As the medicine “machine” continues to grow more powerful and new transactional cures are valued over comfort, medical professionals must decide our place in this. Does this define us, or can we offer something else? I’d like to think that we can. Dr Khullar concludes with the following aphorism he heard early in his medical school training that I am choosing to embrace as we start out 2026: “cure sometimes, relieve often, comfort always”.