A Change Will Do You Good

The primary care physician is described as many things—generalist, information manager, chronic care coordinator, and specialist in disease prevention. But midlevel clinicians, the Internet, and self-motivated patients can provide most of these services quite ably on their own. Why, then, are we here? One indispensable role for the family doctor is to be an agent of change for our patients and our communities. Through the groundbreaking work of Michael Balint, William Miller, and Stephen Rollnick, we have a solid framework for understanding our role in the change process. It is through working with patients, however, that we learn of their extraordinary capacity for change—and by extension, ours.