Relationships are important, especially in the healthcare field. As a patient, you often are asked personal questions about your life/activities/family. Unfortunately, this relationship is typically one sided, with the patient knowing very little about the person who sees them during their most vulnerable moments. For this reason, we would like you to know a little more about our own doctor, Dr. Michael Tremblay (or Dr. Mike, for most of you). So, without further ado, I leave you with Dr. Tremblay’s first-hand account of his journey towards DPC.
“I got into medicine first by being a physical therapist and then deciding to go to medical school back in the late 80s. I really thought that I could make a difference in peoples’ lives. The more I studied the more interesting Medicine became to me from both a biological and an interpersonal standpoint. Originally, I thought about orthopedic surgery, but I felt that the focus would be too narrow. I decided on family medicine because I wanted to take care of newborns to grandparents and everything in between.”
“I had great experiences in my internship and residency and then I spent four years in rural Arkansas taking care of underprivileged and undeserved people. I decided to settle in New England because our families were within driving distance and it seemed like a great place to raise four children. I worked long hours to get the practice started and tried to balance life with a family and a business and a marriage. In the early days this did not seem like a problem. Although I worked long hour, I was able to take vacation and watch my children play sports after school by scheduling things properly. This all changed as corporations took over private practices. The new emphasis was on seeing as many patients as you could during your day to support the corporate infrastructure. The physical and mental health of the patients became secondary.”
“We hired administrators to make our organization as profitable as possible. We had monthly meetings scheduled with slide shows outlining who ordered the most and least tests to make the corporation money. (We should’ve really called them shame shows). I had no idea how miserable I was seeing 25 to 30 patients a day and spending little time with anyone. One day as I walked into my office with my head held down one of my patients remarked hey Doc, put your head up, why are you so down?”
“I was going to quit but I discovered direct primary care. Jane, my wife, and I did our homework and about a year later with a lot of hard work and financial fortitude we made it happen. Now I see no more than eight patients a day and I spend all the time with each one that they wish. I walk into my office each morning with my head held high. I am back to practicing medicine the way it should be. Patient…
Dr. Mike
Brooke Rieth NP
