Anyone else totally frustrated with US medical care?

[Anonymous]

Forms multiple times
Providers are always late
The cost is ridiculous

[Anonymous]

DH had knee surgery recently and the same providers kept asking the same questions on forms at check in over and over. He finally stopped answering.

[Anonymous]

Wait until uou are old. It’s even worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:they just type your symptoms into the computer and recite the response it provides. or they’ll face a lawsuit for deviating from the accepted practice. Dr AI almost here.

Do they? My free chat gpt is better than many of my doctors.

I hate this, but I agree. ChatGPT gives me the information without the attitude. I don't trust it, and I definitely don't like it, but it's much less hassle than dealing with whitecoats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this a joke post?

+1. Have you been living under a rock OP? Nearly everyone agrees that US healthcare is expensive and yields incredibly poor outcomes given how expensive it is.

The only people who say otherwise are those who work for health insurance companies.

That p poster said she/he has good doctors

A lot of people who think they have good doctors simply have decent health and good insurance. When you get a complicated issue, or lose your insurance, you realize what most of us are talking about.

It's a nice little bubble to be in; I like that for them. I wish more of us had it. Since we don't, I wish there was a way to communicate to the bubbled-up people what the rest of us experience when we get bounced around to specialists and out-of-network providers, have to wait months or even years to see the right kind of doctor for the issues we're experiencing, have to jump through pre-approval hoops with our insurance, etc.

The US healthcare system is great for healthy people with good insurance. That's the whole problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, the actual care is great. It's just way too expensive.

The care would be great if every. single. clinician. I have ever seen in my life didn't complain to me, the patient, about how overworked/busy/stressed they are. Literally every one, and I have a chronic health condition which means I see a LOT of docs. They're not happy with this system. That should matter to the end-user, because there's a reason and it's a liability for those of us who need good care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:they just type your symptoms into the computer and recite the response it provides. or they’ll face a lawsuit for deviating from the accepted practice. Dr AI almost here.

Do they? My free chat gpt is better than many of my doctors.

I hate this, but I agree. ChatGPT gives me the information without the attitude. I don't trust it, and I definitely don't like it, but it's much less hassle than dealing with whitecoats.

NP. I hate the tone of ChatGPT. It says all sorts of phrases that are too fluffy and feel good. Like "I'm sorry you're feeling that way" "that must be hard for you" "what you're feeling is real". I'm a pretty direct person and wouldn't go to a doctor that spewed things like that at me. I'm there for a medical diagnosis, not a therapist.

[Anonymous]

Definitely not perfect, but better than some alternatives. UK does not even offer propofol for colonoscopy, instead using midazolam. That might be fine for some, but I guarantee many would not have their exam without being fully asleep. It would be nice if there was a central database of labs and test results for providers. There is way too much duplication of services.

[Anonymous]

Medical care has declined in quality and availability significantly. Just try to find a primary care doctor, and don’t tell me a Nurse Practitioner is the same as an MD.

[Anonymous]

You have to hire private practice doctors. I di not use insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to hire private practice doctors. I di not use insurance.

I sure hope you recognize how privileged and out of touch you sound with that comment. Sure, not using insurance works if you’re very wealthy and/or have good health. If you have any sort of semi-serious health issue, it becomes unaffordable pretty quickly. Just as an example- I am currently in active treatment for breast cancer, and the “list price” of my care is already over $100K and I haven’t even had chemo, radiation, or hormone therapy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medical care has declined in quality and availability significantly. Just try to find a primary care doctor, and don’t tell me a Nurse Practitioner is the same as an MD.

Totally agree and I am a nurse. I’m also skeptical of the trend for NP’s to now get Doctorate degrees so they can be referred to as Doctor.

[Anonymous]

I have Kaiser Permanente and do not experience the issues described by OP.
No forms to fill out at appointments because they already have my medical record.
If they prescribe tests, it is because their data supports it and the tests are covered.
If I don’t like the doctor, I can get a new one.

I have several chronic conditions. Maybe if I had a PPO I could go out and seek some other treatment? I don’t know. To me, it wouldn’t be worth the additional expense and hassle compared to managed care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t agree, but I also don’t go to doctors who take insurance so that helps.

Thanks Daddy Warbucks. So helpful!

It’s a few hundred per doctor per year. It’s not that much. I don’t go to a lot of doctors. People are always looking for free or cheap or reasonable. Good luck waiting months for an appointment.

What if you need surgery? Most people can't afford to pay OOP for that.

[Anonymous]

I have great doctors who are on top of things. They’re all of Indian descent. No complaints about my medical care at all and I have a myriad of health issues.