Restoring the true spirit of the family doctor

In recent years, the mainstream media has portrayed GPs as harassed, harangued and over-worked individuals … often frustrated and tired, with little empathy or initiative to provide the best care for their patients. The bureaucratic, and in many ways restrictive national health systems, also appear to further fuel this growing divide between what patients expect of their healthcare providers and what is actually being delivered.

Dr Maria Alice Serrano e Silva already recognised this issue decades ago and it was the motivation behind opening Luzdoc and more recently Medilagos. This vision of providing a more holistic, patient-centric primary healthcare, aligns with the actual definition of Family Medicine, which is to provide a comprehensive and appropriate primary healthcare for individuals, families and communities. This includes taking into consideration their biological, psychological, socio-economic, cultural and spiritual backgrounds, thus incorporating prevention and health education with quality clinical care.

The true spirit of a Family Doctor incorporates a deep clinical knowledge of all fields of Medicine, encompassing this within the context of providing care beyond just the symptoms of a disease. A General Practitioner/Family Doctor has to have very special attributes that bring together an intuitive, problem-solving mind with an empathetic and understanding heart.

Good communication skills are essential to not only understand what patients are trying to express with regards to their symptoms, feelings, emotions, and anxieties surrounding their condition but also to be able to educate them and provide clear insight into their specific health conditions. This shared knowledge can then lead to further debate and dialogue when discussing treatment plans, healthcare options and ultimately making the right, tailor-made choice that best suits the specific person and medical condition.

The medical and paramedical team at Luzdoc and Medilagos has identified all of these characteristics and recognised that in the medical field, as indeed in any other professional field, the capacity to “see” what many others do not see, to look beyond the obvious, to go the extra mile, is what really makes the difference between a standard run-of-the-mill care and an exceptional all-round service. Their decades-old, strong patient-doctor relationships are a testament to the team’s pledge to be there for their patients’ comprehensive medical needs, always.

Their first concern is you, the whole of you.
Under the current clinical direction of Dr Joanna Karamon, the Luzdoc and Medilagos doctors strongly believe that improving patient self-care is much less costly and far more effective than belated and repeated treatments to address the consequences of failing to motivate and educate patients about prevention, check-ups and regular maintenance of their health status. They believe that to know you, the patient, is to know your family, to know your home, to know your environment. And that is the key to being more than just a doctor, it is the key to being your PERSONAL FAMILY DOCTOR.

By Portugal Resident – Article about Luzdoc and Medilagos
5th March 2024