You can expect that in working with you he will get to know
you thoroughly-past medical history, family medical history, job, working
habits, living habits-so he can weigh any possibility that you-as a member of a
specific group based on heredity, environment, age, sex, color, personal
habits-may face certain specific health hazards.
In his regular periodic examinations, he will follow your
health progress in general and will be alert for the slightest early indication
of anything wrong in any area of special risk for you. He may, in fact, from
time to time use special tests to make certain all is going well in a special
risk area.
During your visits, he will be concerned, of course, with
any physical complaints and also with any mental or emotional problems (job,
marital, and others), since these can affect health.
He will be interested in any changes in your habits and
their possible effects, for good or ill, on your health. From time to time, he
may have suggestions for an alteration, perhaps minor, of diet, exercisepattern, sleep, relaxation, etc.
As he regularly checks you, alert for earliest indications,
even pre-indications, of possible trouble, he will be prepared to intervene
without delay. Rather than wait, say, for obvious symptoms of diabetes to
develop-especially if you belong to the group with greater than average probability
of developing the disease-he will intervene to try to correct, if they appear,
the very first changes that could possibly lead to diabetes.
As medicine has been practiced generally to now, it has been
the patient who, in effect, has turned up after making a self-diagnosis. It has
been the patient who has decided, "I think I am or may be sick or becoming
sick," and then has sought help.
How it will be the preventively minded physician who
increasingly will be able to tell the patient, "You are about to become
sick and we are going to take a few measures in advance so you won't actually
develop the sickness."
