Workbook · 8A. The best medicine?

Speaker: It’s funny, when I first started as a GP, I’d be scribbling notes the moment a patient walked in. I’ve stopped doing that now, for the first four minutes at least. Just listening. It’s amazing what you pick up when you’re not focused on writing. Outcomes measurably improved, actually. Patients feel heard, which is half the battle.

I remember one gentleman, Mr. Henderson, who came in complaining of chronic fatigue. His previous GP had him on a cocktail of medications. He seemed to have been over-prescribed for about three years. I think simply listening to his story, really digging into his lifestyle, was more effective than any of those pills.

Last winter was a nightmare for everyone. I caught everything going, felt as sick as a dog for weeks. Honestly, being a patient for a change, even a miserable one, was a weirdly refreshing experience. It reminds you what it’s like on the other side of the desk.

We often talk about the pill in the small paper cup, don't we? How it’s doing this real biological work. But what about the appointment itself, the diagnosis, the human connection? I’m increasingly convinced those elements are doing just as much, if not more, of the measurable work, even though the drug often gets all the credit.