SECRETS OF A COUNTRY DOCTOR
James W, Elliott, M.D.

Written by a physician in rural Southwest Virginia, Secrets of a Country Doctor is a humorous, anecdotal history of his medical practice from 1936 to 1988. It describes a simpler time, during which doctors practiced without many of the problems that face modern physicians: forms to fill in fir every procedure, overcrowded offices, second opinions, high insurance costs, etc. In fact, much of the book is about the unique doctor-patient relationships that existed before the age of health insurance. It was a different kind of time, when the family doctor often met his patient at the emergency room and remained the sole treating physician throughout the hospital stay.