The other day I sat back and reflected on this past COVID year. Initially, only bad thoughts came into my mind. For instance, I reflected on how many patients decided to hold off or even discontinue treatment due to the propaganda they were watching on TV. To say my practice suffered due to COVID is an understatement. My business acumen was sharpened greatly.

My interaction with insurance companies and the Veteran insurance changed in not good ways. Due to most insurance companies being tied with hospitals and inpatient/outpatient facilities, their rules and regulating s concerning providers changed—sometimes to a great effect. A lot of my contracts with insurers were rewritten, with more restrictive language put in place. I am not going into details regarding these restrictions here. Just appreciate that my working relationship with these insurers negatively changed.

Even more disturbing to me, was how my relationships with my colleagues changed. Now, I don’t want to leave you with the impression that all my professional relations changed for the worse; there were some that actually strengthened due to COVID. However, the ones that changed for the worse still stings.

The primary reason some of these relationships went “sour” was because of our differing opinion regarding what the appropriate response to COVID should be. I still tell my patients the best way to counter such a virus is to strengthen your immune system by taking supplements like Vitamin C, Zinc and Vitamin D with K2. By the way, I give this advice to my fellow colleagues. I strongly feel if one does this, he doesn’t have to wear a mask or take a MRNA vaccine.

Many of my colleagues refute this notion and feel that the only way to protect yourself from COVID is just to listen to what the CDC or Fauci says. In fact, they tell me that they don’t want any interaction with me if I still harbor my views. Unfortunately, this has led to a few strained professional relationships and has been, undoubtedly, the worse result of COVID and this past year.