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My name is Adam Flug. I'm an ophthalmologist, and I

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work at Optum. I became a doctor because, growing up,

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I would watch my dad take care of people in

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the neighborhood. He was the go‑to person for all the

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locals who had problems. People would seek his advice, come

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over when their child cut a finger, and he would

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help them out. I always wanted to be that person

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who could help in a pinch. When I first started

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medical school, I really did not want to be an

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ophthalmologist. My dad is an ophthalmologist, but I didn’t see

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myself filling that role. I figured that at the end

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of medical school, I would just give it a shot

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and see what it was like. I tried it during

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my third year, and it was fascinating. People came in

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unable to see and walked out the next day with

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restored vision. It's an incredible feeling to help restore someone's

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sight, and I knew I wanted to do that. I

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am a general ophthalmologist. I do everything from basic vision

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screenings to cataract surgery, glaucoma procedures, and retinal procedures. We

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perform many diabetic screenings to check for eye damage caused

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by diabetes. We treat corneal scratches, injuries—basically soup to nuts

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for all things eye‑related. I once did cataract surgery on

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a patient who had two very mature cataracts, meaning he

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could not see out of either eye. I removed the

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first cataract, and the next day I ran into him

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in the parking lot. He had no idea who I

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was because he had never seen me before. I asked

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how he was feeling, and he said, ‘Great! I can

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see!’ I told him, ‘It’s me—Dr. Flug,’ and he replied,

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‘Wow, I’ve never seen you before.’ Moments like that are

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incredibly rewarding. In my practice, we pride ourselves on giving

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every patient the same level of attention we would give

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a family member. We return phone calls promptly. We are

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always open to discussions if people have questions about surgeries

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or procedures. We are happy to talk in great detail,

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and we will never cut you short or rush you

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out the door. Every person is important to us. We’re

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a big family here at Optum. I think the doctors

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are great, and I’ve known them for a long time.

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I trust them. You can get almost everything done in

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one day, no matter what the issue is. For example,

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if someone comes into my office—or their primary care office—with

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double vision, the primary care doctor can call me, and

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I’ll say, ‘Send them right over.’ We diagnose them, work

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them up, and treat them. Patients can come to my

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office, we call radiology, get an MRI the same day,

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and have a diagnosis within hours. Everything is seamless. It

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flows smoothly. You get to know the people, and everyone

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here is very good at what they do. It’s an

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easy work environment. I like to hike and bike. I

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enjoy baking and cooking—I’m known for my mean cheesecake. My

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name is Adam Flug. I'm an ophthalmologist, and I work

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at Optum.