The more common term “physician” has also become synonymous with MD. To be a physician, in general, is to be qualified to provide essential health care using methods recognized by most public institutions as in keeping with accepted modern medical practices. This does not mean, of course, that ancient practices which have proven to be effective are without value in the modern medical profession. It only means that we have progressed to the level of fine-tuning the human capability to provide health care and to alleviate the sufferings of millions of sick people. And the people tasked with providing such highly-specialized skills also possess higher amounts of persistence, diligence and self-sacrifice than most people.
Dr. Richard Isaacs, MD, is a prime example of the qualified modern physician who has made good use of the worldwide web to present his credentials and his services to those who require medical care or assistance. A lot of people might either be surprised or turned off by such a direct approach to promoting one’s profession to the greater virtual community out there. That is because it might come out as somewhat demeaning to the noble profession of the physician which many consider to be more altruistic or service-oriented than most other vocations.
But that was common in the older times when medical practitioners worked silently in the bigger institutions, hospitals or hole-in-the-wall clinics they worked in. Today, doctors form so-called poly-clinics to provide a para-hospital alternative facilities for providing diagnostic and consultancy services. Most doctors, in the past, made do with putting up a sign on their home front-door as simple private general practitioners with a handful of devoted patients in their immediate neighborhood or locality.
However, today, the number of physicians and medical-help providers has multiplied and the means of providing such services have become more dynamic and diverse with the aid of technology. A doctor does not need to be with the patient to provide care, especially with common ailments. Or even in more serious cases where the doctor cannot be present and as long as there are other qualified professionals who can administer the prescription in an acceptable manner. Hence, it is not uncommon for a patient to be in a hospital for a couple of days, for instance, without having been visited by a medical specialist who may be preoccupied somewhere else although she does gets proper medical care under resident doctors. Times change and the way doctors apply their skills has also evolved with the times and the needs of the growing population.