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Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Proud

I am proud of me today.

I had a three month follow up appointment with my doctor today- this was for the whole biopsy drama that happened a few months ago... so anyway, if you will remember his staff was atrocious. They never returned phone calls.... when it was determined that I needed a biopsy they had no bedside manner- promised to call back within a week to schedule my procedure and then never did... I had to call them. It has been a nightmare. The entire process, to find out I really was ok, took over two months. Ridiculous... The doctor himself was fine, not super impressed, but I could TOTALLY see how his staff could misplace documents, etc... and give me incorrect test results. The last time I was in there, the nurse I am ALWAYS trying to get in touch with, was lounging in the nurses area talking on a personal phone call.

Well today was my appointment and I just could not bring myself to go. I really thought about it- and what if five years down the line I have a problem and I need urgent or consistent medical care... I would not trust this man or his office to handle it. I really think, without being dramatic, if I had a life threatening problem, my chances of biting the big one under his care rise dramatically....

SO, I canceled my appointment this morning. I am not going somewhere I am uncomfortable and do not trust. I got on yelp.com and looked up reviews of other doctors in the area and I found a FABULOUS place near my house... and I called and made an appointment there for Feb 4. I explained everything and they were VERY helpful. They even have a website where you go and fill out all your paperwork and then forever and ever, they post all your test results and things there so you can see them at any time. HOW CONVENIENT!

I called the other doc back and told them I need all my medical records. I am not settling for sub-prime care. I saw the movie Sicko and I AM concerned for medical care in this country. I do sometimes wonder if a blanket health care system wouldn't maybe be better... I know we'd have to wait longer, but it's proven that in Canada or France, etc... if the issue is life threatening, they do see you immediately. I am so tired of hearing about things not covered and pre-existing conditions. I sometimes wonder why in the world we even HAVE health insurance. I know when I was jobless with Graves Disease it was one of the scariest times of my life.... no one would help me and COBRA coverage was astronomical. My mom paid for it for two months and then we dropped it because it was so expensive... now even though I am in a group plan, I still have some pre-existing conditions that are not covered until May 6.

YIPPEE- yeah America! No one, including the government would help me get medicial care, but they sure do take their taxes every month on time- and every time I go to the store, etc...

We have some serious issues in this country.

Karyn

1 comments:

Tracy said...

I agree with you about the health care in this country being lacking. But, government involvement in healthcare is what got us in this situation to begin with. The requirements and crazy rules in Medicaid and Medicare has caused Doctors to be more worried about filling out paperwork and fitting into certain perimeters than providing the right service.

The other major problem with healthcare is the crazy high prices Drs have to pay for insurance against ridiculous lawsuits. Some docs have to pay as much as $10k per month (Darlene pays $300 per month and she's a nurse). And it's even higher for surgeons and obgyns. That's why there is a serious shortage in docs willing to do baby delivering.

Then, the place that needs to be focused on is the pharmecuetical industry. The cost of our meds is another reason our costs are so huge.

Finally, don't believe what you hear about Canadian healthcare. Michael Moore is a big fat liar. He tells half truths at best. I have some co-workers in Canada that hate their system. You don't get quicker service for emergencies unless you are nearly dying. They also only treat you quickly if they determine you haven't contributed to your problems. In other words, if you are fat, smoke, drink, don't exercise, etc. you are put at the back of the list. The only thing these countries have better than us is cheaper meds. But, you have to make an appointment months in advance and most likely take the whole day off from work to get seen.

This is why Canadians with money cross the border to see US docs.

It's a crappy situation at best, but I think socialized healthcare would make it way worse.

Costa Rica is sounding better all the time!