I have been informed I have some medical issues.
Now most people pretty much know they have something wrong with them before actually having their health care provided calling them out of the blue but I can't seem to do anything the normal way. I do not feel sick, I have no symptoms and yet...
...while having some random testing someone, somewhere gazing at a light box across town saw some weird something on an x-ray that didn't seem to belong there.
Two weeks and several hundred dollars worth of co pays poorer, I am still doing the testing/specialist hustle.
Although I work in the health care industry in a limited capacity, I usually don't get down and dirty with those annoying people we call patients. I don't normally deal with their annoying little problems and their annoying little whines and gripes.
That is not my area.
My area is making sure the business aspect of health care runs smoothly and the plastic surgeons get to keep their trophy wives, their annual trips to Greece and their Maserati.
I have to tell ya, I am not loving the other side of the exam table.
I have been CT Scanned, PET Scanned and bed panned. I've been injected, objected and subjected. I've been stabbed, labbed and scabbed.
And still one doctor sends me to another and so on and so on...
All advising..more tests more tests!
I get it docs, it is something that doesn't belong in my body so take it the fuck out!
Feeling fine has never been so exhausting.
19 comments:
Co-pays?
Its good to be Canadian....... fuck yeah!!!!
Interesting that you said that Razor. I just met one of your fellow countrymen yesterday who has come to Florida to stay with his son while he has a five level spine fusion. He couldn't stand the pain anymore and decided he didn't want to wait until his scheduled surgery in January. He was explaining that he could pay and have another doctor perform the surgery in Canada but if he was going to have to pay anyway, he wanted to be near his son. Sad situation. I felt bad for him. Although he is happy with your system in general, he explained non emergent surgeries can be a pain to get scheduled in a timely manner.
Sorry you are having to go through this, Chris. I hope it was just a dirty spot on the x-ray lense.
Razor, now you know why the Canadians are crossing the border in huge numbers and coming to the Good Old USA for treatment.
Free ain't the best way to go.
When I went for my knee surgery, they ortho say to me "You didn't need to get all those scans. If you had come to me firstI would been able diagnose the problem with out all that." Thanks Dr, I could have save myself another $400 out of pocket medical bill. I am getting to think Michael Moore was correct in his documentary about the health industry.
Yes Chris non-emergency surgeries are scheduled and are allocated by need not want
Coffey many of those crossing the border are doing it on the governments free system because it is deemed necesary but unavailable in a timely manner in Canada. Others are willing to pay to line skip big deal? Many americans leave your country seeking medical attention because it is too expensive to obtain it there. Have you ever wondered why so many mexican doctors are located near the border and major airports?
Many still leave your country to line skip on organ transplants
So again tell me what is so bad about free and what is so great with YOUR system?
And why is medical tourism so popular with patients of your system?
That sucks, Chris. I hate being poked and prodded. Hope they get you fixed up good as new in no time!
I hope things turn out ok, Chris.
Having been a patient of both the Canadian system and the American system, I can say that I was always extremely happy with the Canadian system. No paperwork for me, no one questioning me, no one phoning from insurance companies to make sure that there wasn't a cheaper way to go: I just got what I needed and went home. And no co-pay. The same went for my three kids. There's such a freedom in raising children and knowing there is great health care available.
The line skipping is sometimes for those who have the cash to go ahead and do what they want. Life in North America has always been More Money = less wait. Guess what? I wait for procedures here, too. My husband, who is high risk for colon cancer has waited six months for the CLASS to teach him about colonoscopies ... not even the colonoscopy itself. People here wait in corridors and sit in ambulances for care. It's the same everywhere. I am just grateful we have insurance.
Oh ... we live in the US now.
I'm sorry you're having to go through all this stuff. It stinks. I hope it turns out to be nothing major. I hope they can diagnose you SOON!
Bohica, that is absolutely insane. Where the heck do you live that it is so bad? Geez, my dad needed a colonoscopy earlier this year and it was scheduled and performed within a week. What kind of class does he have to take? Do they expect him to assist??? lol
I am totally for free healthcare. the logistics of making it happen in the US are a nightmare but I would much rather have to pay if I want rolls royce service and get it free for good service. What is killing me right now is the fact that even with insurance, SCMs bills are over three grand out of pocket and climbing. It makes me a bit bitter that I pay over five hundred dollars per month to have him insured under my plan and he is still going to have to pay all this additional money. No wonder people have to file bankruptcy after major illnesses. Who can afford to pay these bills if you don't even have insurance???
Sorry you are having problems. Lord knows that I am freakishly familiar with hospitals and tests and crazy health problems.
I will keep you in my prayers. And
no matter what anyone might say, I think the US is still the best place in the world to be a sick person.
But that is just my opinion.
Karen: I didn't expect this to turn into the merits of one healthcare system or another but I guess this subject is on everyone's mind. I'll tell you what concerns me the most. Like everything else, healthcare innovations are financially driven. Drug companies R and D want to create the best new medication in order to make profits go up and stock holders happy. So what will be the incentive? I'd like to think there will be government funded labs all for the betterment of mankind driven but let's face facts..it isn't going to happen. I am not talking about the next viagra but the next cancer drug, the next non narcotic pain pill, the cure to the swine flu...
I'm sorry you are going through all of this! I just hope they find it and fix it quick. Going through the referral after referral can be a tedious and frustrating process, I know. I've done it all with my daughter's ADHD diagnosis.
Good thing is if they find it before the symptoms, chances are it's an early catch! I hope it turns out to be nothing at all.
Christine: We live in Southern California. I pitched a fit when he came home and told me that little bit of news. He swore there was no other way to do it. Apparently because so many news shows, doctor shows, talk shows, etc are telling men to get colonoscopies, there is a backlog, and we have an HMO rather than a PPO, and are limited in our choices. SO ... a six month wait for a place in this stupid class that teaches him what is to happen during his colonoscopy, then Gawd-Knows-How-Long before he actually gets the appointment for it. If it is a long wait, I will take matters into my own hands and fling monkey shit at someone. His MOTHER HAD COLON CANCER! He should be at the head of the line. It's ludicrous.
Bohica..I would most definitely call your primary care and say you need a referral to another gastroenterologist. Keep calling around until one says they don't require some stupid class and can do the procedure within a month or so. Maybe find one who is on your plan and then call your primary and tell their referral department who you need to referral written to.
You having to go through this for a simple test is total bullshit. HMO or no HMO. Specialists still get paid and want your business.
Christine
America is not the only place they do medical research or drug development
Infact one of the Nobel prizes for medicine this year went to a Canadian!
Razor...I get it. GO CANADA. lol
Seriously though..there of course are exceptions. However, if you research the most current cancer drugs innovations, you will see that just about every one was developed and distributed by an American based drug company. Additionally, innovation in surgery advancement techniques such as spine instrumentation and single incision robotic surgery (which I am going to be undergoing shortly) have been created in the US with R and D money provided through big share holder companies . While they could be created any place in the world, it take MONEY and money is something the private sector has more of and that sector is more willing to gamble to make a buck than government money which involve a bunch of hoops to jump through even before getting something approved with the FDA,
I am no expert but I know for a fact that a great many medical break throughs have come from outside the US including most of the early research into aids and a great deal of research into DNA and gene therapy
The former iron curtain countries take the cake into bizarre medical therapy. You can believe this or not but they developed a cure for blindness that involves extracting a tooth boring the centre out and installing an artificial lens and implanting it in the eye. Its mostly used on patients who have lost sight due to chemical burns
I guess it helps to have a compliant population, little if any medical rules and a non-existant tort system
Hope they get you fixed up real soon!
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