Anyone else totally frustrated with US medical care?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know Republicans have a plan coming in two weeks ..... oh two more weeks,....

It's been how many years now??????

Oh, do you really think Obamacare was a success? https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408166

do you really think Obamacare wasn’t forced to be watered down?

MORON.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think people don't realize how rationed and sparse and also years/decades behind care can be in other countries. My mom in Europe is on a 1st gen inferior med for her medical condition and here we are on a fourth gen med which is much more effective. Every drug takes a very long time to be approved compared to the US. My parents have ONE choice of doctor in their surrounding area they get assigned to, and if they don't like that doctor they cannot switch. They also have to a wait a long time even for GP appointments and specialists much more. So yes, it is very cheap, but also not the best quality care or cutting edge care. As far as colonoscopies, they are not offered at all for screenings. The US is the only country that (to my knowledge) covers that as first line of screening through insurance for over 45. Other countries are through FIT only unless anything is found/specific symptoms.

And to be clear I don't think our system is perfect, especially tying care to insurance through work. There is something very cruel about people needing to work through cancer treatments or lose their insurance.

[Anonymous]

I'm beyond sick of it, tbh. In one year I had a doctor in the er try to send me home to take antacids when I needed my appendix out and an ortho tell me to lose weight because my (unilateral and happened with a fall) knee pain was arthritis (it was a torn tendon).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know Republicans have a plan coming in two weeks ..... oh two more weeks,....

It's been how many years now??????

Oh, do you really think Obamacare was a success? https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=408166

do you really think Obamacare wasn’t forced to be watered down?

MORON.

Why do you think hurling insults without explanation is appropriate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think people don't realize how rationed and sparse and also years/decades behind care can be in other countries. My mom in Europe is on a 1st gen inferior med for her medical condition and here we are on a fourth gen med which is much more effective. Every drug takes a very long time to be approved compared to the US. My parents have ONE choice of doctor in their surrounding area they get assigned to, and if they don't like that doctor they cannot switch. They also have to a wait a long time even for GP appointments and specialists much more. So yes, it is very cheap, but also not the best quality care or cutting edge care. As far as colonoscopies, they are not offered at all for screenings. The US is the only country that (to my knowledge) covers that as first line of screening through insurance for over 45. Other countries are through FIT only unless anything is found/specific symptoms.

And to be clear I don't think our system is perfect, especially tying care to insurance through work. There is something very cruel about people needing to work through cancer treatments or lose their insurance.

I'm French and my relatives gave birth in hospitals without air conditioning. That part was shocking to me. They also definitely did not have private rooms for after and spouses weren't allowed to stay.

There's a lot that could be more coordinated about American medicine, but the care is great. Cost is a different issue. The people who want cheap healthcare, likely won't like what cheap healthcare involves. There would be less therapies, less brand name drugs, and more referrals to specialists. I personally think that all ERs should have an urgent care next door. Part of triage would be sending people with ear aches, sore throats, and minor issues there first. ERs should be for heart attacks, major accidents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think people don't realize how rationed and sparse and also years/decades behind care can be in other countries. My mom in Europe is on a 1st gen inferior med for her medical condition and here we are on a fourth gen med which is much more effective. Every drug takes a very long time to be approved compared to the US. My parents have ONE choice of doctor in their surrounding area they get assigned to, and if they don't like that doctor they cannot switch. They also have to a wait a long time even for GP appointments and specialists much more. So yes, it is very cheap, but also not the best quality care or cutting edge care. As far as colonoscopies, they are not offered at all for screenings. The US is the only country that (to my knowledge) covers that as first line of screening through insurance for over 45. Other countries are through FIT only unless anything is found/specific symptoms.

And to be clear I don't think our system is perfect, especially tying care to insurance through work. There is something very cruel about people needing to work through cancer treatments or lose their insurance.

You're making a lot of generalizations. I too have lived in Europe, and have not found this to be the case. Doctors spend more time with their patients there than I find to be the case in the USA, and while there may be long wait times to get a specialist in Europe, it generally takes me 4-6 months to get a specialist to see me here, for my kids, it has been even longer. And don't get me started about the costs in America vs. Europe. Prescribed medications are cheap, there's no worry that you will die because you can't afford your insulin or your epipen.

I will actually do a combined vacation/medical tourism trip next year, because I find care easier/cheaper to access from Europe. I know others do the same for Asia and parts of Latin America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think people don't realize how rationed and sparse and also years/decades behind care can be in other countries. My mom in Europe is on a 1st gen inferior med for her medical condition and here we are on a fourth gen med which is much more effective. Every drug takes a very long time to be approved compared to the US. My parents have ONE choice of doctor in their surrounding area they get assigned to, and if they don't like that doctor they cannot switch. They also have to a wait a long time even for GP appointments and specialists much more. So yes, it is very cheap, but also not the best quality care or cutting edge care. As far as colonoscopies, they are not offered at all for screenings. The US is the only country that (to my knowledge) covers that as first line of screening through insurance for over 45. Other countries are through FIT only unless anything is found/specific symptoms.

And to be clear I don't think our system is perfect, especially tying care to insurance through work. There is something very cruel about people needing to work through cancer treatments or lose their insurance.

I'm French and my relatives gave birth in hospitals without air conditioning. That part was shocking to me. They also definitely did not have private rooms for after and spouses weren't allowed to stay.

There's a lot that could be more coordinated about American medicine, but the care is great. Cost is a different issue. The people who want cheap healthcare, likely won't like what cheap healthcare involves. There would be less therapies, less brand name drugs, and more referrals to specialists. I personally think that all ERs should have an urgent care next door. Part of triage would be sending people with ear aches, sore throats, and minor issues there first. ERs should be for heart attacks, major accidents.

The great thing in the US now, and maybe not everyone is aware, is that for things like a sore throat or ear ache there is Walgreens and CVS (and other) minute clinics and you can be seen within 5 minutes for those and have meds in 30 mins. And then if you can't? There is Doctors on Demand on your phone or desktop. All that is all cheap with a copay.

[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.

Op here. I pay insurance plus a co pay. So nothing I get is free. But I also go to out of network doctors and pay on my own. The care is marginally better, yes, but still leaves much to be desired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went for a bone scan today. This amazing machine that scans over your body and analyzes bone density. I’m sure it costs millions to develop. Wonderful. But it would be nice if I could go to a doctor who would help me with my constant fatigue and low grade headaches. It’s probably not that complicated of a fix - iron? thyroid hormone tweak? Vitamin d? - but doctors don’t seem capable of helping with symptoms like that.

I mean, if you really can't get your doctor to order you a basic bloodwork panel, you can order all of those inexpensive, common tests yourself from labcorp for under 100 dollars.

Op I’ve already said several times that I’ve had blood tests done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can order labwork yourself from Quest or Labcorp.

I’ve already said I’ve had blood tests

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Op this is exactly it. It’s great until you have something and you don’t really need it. I’ll also admit that I think it’s probably good for emergencies and cancer, that sort of more catastrophic thing. But more everyday quality of life healthcare, no?

And I don’t have health anxiety as someone upstream implied. If anything, I don’t want expensive tests. But I’d like a doctor running labs that cost thousands of dollars to be a little more attentive of symptoms and medication interactions and other non catastrophic issues. As ex, just bc my thyroid labs come back in the green zone technically, if my TSH is higher than it was last time and the time before, maybe that means something, especially considering I’m symptomatic. 99.99% of doctors will ignore that. KWIM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went for a bone scan today. This amazing machine that scans over your body and analyzes bone density. I’m sure it costs millions to develop. Wonderful. But it would be nice if I could go to a doctor who would help me with my constant fatigue and low grade headaches. It’s probably not that complicated of a fix - iron? thyroid hormone tweak? Vitamin d? - but doctors don’t seem capable of helping with symptoms like that.

If your insurance is willing to pay for comprehensive top-to-bottom tests to find out why you are having headaches, I am sure docs will be willing to do it.

I’ve had plenty of tests. That part is easy, and certainly profitable for the medical industry. But I’ve found that if your symptoms fall within standard lab ranges, then you’re fine no matter what symptoms you have. So if your iron is low normal, as example, most doctors will say you’re fine.

I’ve heard it described and have found to be true: Western medicine is best for acute conditions, while Eastern medicine is best for chronic conditions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went for a bone scan today. This amazing machine that scans over your body and analyzes bone density. I’m sure it costs millions to develop. Wonderful. But it would be nice if I could go to a doctor who would help me with my constant fatigue and low grade headaches. It’s probably not that complicated of a fix - iron? thyroid hormone tweak? Vitamin d? - but doctors don’t seem capable of helping with symptoms like that.

If your insurance is willing to pay for comprehensive top-to-bottom tests to find out why you are having headaches, I am sure docs will be willing to do it.

I’ve had plenty of tests. That part is easy, and certainly profitable for the medical industry. But I’ve found that if your symptoms fall within standard lab ranges, then you’re fine no matter what symptoms you have. So if your iron is low normal, as example, most doctors will say you’re fine.

I’ve heard it described and have found to be true: Western medicine is best for acute conditions, while Eastern medicine is best for chronic conditions.

Yes that’s it. Thanks for helping me put words to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went for a bone scan today. This amazing machine that scans over your body and analyzes bone density. I’m sure it costs millions to develop. Wonderful. But it would be nice if I could go to a doctor who would help me with my constant fatigue and low grade headaches. It’s probably not that complicated of a fix - iron? thyroid hormone tweak? Vitamin d? - but doctors don’t seem capable of helping with symptoms like that.

This is the problem. Medical care is great for severe injuries or sudden catastrophic health issues. It’s terrible for chronic low burn conditions. All the doctors know how to do in these chronic situations is prescribe drugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

I think people don't realize how rationed and sparse and also years/decades behind care can be in other countries. My mom in Europe is on a 1st gen inferior med for her medical condition and here we are on a fourth gen med which is much more effective. Every drug takes a very long time to be approved compared to the US. My parents have ONE choice of doctor in their surrounding area they get assigned to, and if they don't like that doctor they cannot switch. They also have to a wait a long time even for GP appointments and specialists much more. So yes, it is very cheap, but also not the best quality care or cutting edge care. As far as colonoscopies, they are not offered at all for screenings. The US is the only country that (to my knowledge) covers that as first line of screening through insurance for over 45. Other countries are through FIT only unless anything is found/specific symptoms.

And to be clear I don't think our system is perfect, especially tying care to insurance through work. There is something very cruel about people needing to work through cancer treatments or lose their insurance.

I'm French and my relatives gave birth in hospitals without air conditioning. That part was shocking to me. They also definitely did not have private rooms for after and spouses weren't allowed to stay.

There's a lot that could be more coordinated about American medicine, but the care is great. Cost is a different issue. The people who want cheap healthcare, likely won't like what cheap healthcare involves. There would be less therapies, less brand name drugs, and more referrals to specialists. I personally think that all ERs should have an urgent care next door. Part of triage would be sending people with ear aches, sore throats, and minor issues there first. ERs should be for heart attacks, major accidents.

The great thing in the US now, and maybe not everyone is aware, is that for things like a sore throat or ear ache there is Walgreens and CVS (and other) minute clinics and you can be seen within 5 minutes for those and have meds in 30 mins. And then if you can't? There is Doctors on Demand on your phone or desktop. All that is all cheap with a copay.

What CVS in the DC area has ever taken only 5 minutes to do anything at all? Complete fiction.