Fun things that happened in my DPC practice this week
Author: Sarah Zaheer, MD
1. I received a prior authorization for atorvastatin. When I called the pharmacy to clarify, they were just as confused and apologized. In fact, they had already filled the medication. I filled the prior auth anyway and within a minute received a fax stating it was approved.
Even though it has nothing to do with my efforts, I always feel a dopamine rush and a sense of accomplishment when the prior auths are approved.
2. I needed a patient to see a certain specialist, but the patient was hesitant. They explained,“ She is nice and all, but a little too Gen Z, if you know what I mean. I don’t need the doctor to care about my feelings that much”.
Well, that’s a first. We laughed at this for a solid 5 minutes.
3. I had a long chat with a patient about chai ( South Asian black tea) and they shared their favorite brand. I made a note of the name to remember to get it on my next Desi( south asian) store run. I didn’t need to, though, because the next day the patient sent a box through a family member who was seeing me that day.
This one is a quick mix and perfect to keep in the clinic. Fellow enthusiasts will get how uplifting a good cup of chai is.
4. I had to switch many of my patients who are stable on Zepbound and doing so well to the starter dose of Wegovy, because CareFirst said so.
This is obviously sarcasm. It has not been fun.
5. One of my first DPC patients came in for a follow-up. He was also one of my first attempts at phlebotomy. It was not a successful attempt. At that time, he had said, “Well, Doc, at least you are good at other things.”
At this follow-up, I asked him if he remembered. Of course, he did, and we had a good laugh. Important to add, my skills have drastically improved since then.
6. Several of my patients finally agreed to get their cancer screenings done. This didn’t happen because I shamed them or scared them in any way. I think what tipped the scales was that there was mutual respect and trust. I trust patients to know what their health goals are, and patients trust me to look out for their best interests.
Or maybe their decision did not have anything to do with me. Always important to remember that we have no control over what other people do or think. We just have to keep doing our best.
To be honest, this was a slow week. Each day is full of notable, feel-good moments that it just feels routine now. Medicine has always had its meaningful moments, but the ones in DPC are next level. This is the power of DPC.
