Country Doctor Finds Prosperity in Telehealth
- Mar 19
- 2 min read
Oscar Lovelace, MD
Tells how God called him to be a rural doctor
Many people say that it takes a neighborhood to raise a child well it really takes a community to bring in a rural doctor. I went to church and the minister's sermon was on discerning God's will for your life. He said take home messages go where no one else will go do what no one else will do for God's Glory. So at that point, I really felt a strong sense of calling. That I needed to go back to my roots, and that was to be a country doctor in Prosperity, the hometown of my grandparents. The practice opened August 1st 1988. we had an open house and it was in the middle of the dog days of summer in SC in the last week of July and I think 400 some odd people were standing in line to come and see our new office. And I realized then that my plan of remodeling this old farmhouse, and spending time kind of working around the farmhouse, and the small amount of acreage that we had to work with was not going to pan out. I was probably going to be pretty busy. I think the most important thing in medicine is the relationship between the doctor and the patient. When you're in an exam room with your doctor, you want to know that that person has your best interest at heart and nobody else's. The thing about telehealth and telemedicine is that it has been practiced for a long time, ever since we developed smartphones. Especially because people take a video of the way their child is walking. Someone may take a picture of their skin. And that is using improved communications to get a diagnosis. And I mean, I'm really excited about anything that improves the health of my patients. The fact is that telemedicine is here to stay, and it is just going to get better. We just need to learn how to utilize it in the best interest of improving the health of the community and lowering healthcare costs. I absolutely love what I do. And I have told students before, I said you know, you don't need to do this, but what you do need to do with your medical career is to do whatever gives you the "willies." Because if you do what gives you the willies, you will go to work and you'll be like old Br'er Rabbit, and the rabbit saying please don't throw me in the briar patch. I mean, that's where I want to be. That's my wheelhouse. That's what I live and die for, you know? That's my game, you know? I love this. To be able to pour that out in this community. Priceless.
