Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 21, 1995 TAG: 9508210129
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORTLAND, ORE. LENGTH: Short
``How are you doing with bacon?'' Howatt gently asked 63-year-old Janice Tallman, who is on a diet to lower her blood pressure and cholesterol.
``No bacon,'' her patient answered. ``But I'm sneaking on the eggs.''
``One or two eggs is OK,'' said the doctor, an internal medicine resident at Providence Medical Center.
She then gave Tallman her recipe for an egg-white omelette with skim milk, onions and spices.
Exchanges such as these - taking time to get to know her patients - are a big reason Howatt became a doctor. But as she searches for a job in one of the most competitive medical markets in the country, she realizes that time with patients often will be a luxury.
She expects she will have to see 25 to 30 patients a day - all the while keeping HMO guidelines and the cost of care in mind.
``It's scary. It's kind of a new frontier,'' the 32-year-old doctor says of life with managed care.
The days of a doctor's buying into a practice are dwindling fast. More likely, Howatt will be an employee - not a partner - and earn less money than her predecessors.
``Now you feel like you're a cog in the wheel. But for me, giving up a little autonomy is OK,'' says Howatt, who hopes to have more time to start a family.
In some ways, she says, the adjustment is easier for her and her peers than for the thousands of older doctors who knew life before managed care.
``There's so much information. It's mind-boggling. Health care is going to be different. Whether it's better or worse remains to be seen.''
by CNB