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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It isn’t collapsing. It has collapsed.  [/quote]

100%

When someone goes to the ER with chest pains & is waiting in the waiting room for 9 hrs instead of immediately being taken to triage, it's a broken system.

When an elderly person is diagnosed with having had a stroke in the ER & discharged with orders to follow up with a neurologist within 7 days, but the earliest appointment you can get them is 8 months out, the system is broken. My sibling and I sat calling with our mom to try to get my dad an appointment & this was the result. We have him on a dozen different waitlists but we're still 4 months away from his appt. Terrifying.

A friend went through something similar in finding a Derm. Her Derm couldn't get her in until FEBRUARY 2025 and she had a worrisome spot appear that was rapidly changing. After finding none that could get her in, she went the concierge Derm route. Luckily she had the funds to do so, but what about those who can't go that route? We're going to get to the point where those without the funds to seek alternate treatments get sicker or die while waiting. [/quote]

So much truth. I'm also helping my elderly parents navigate health issues and it's insane. You can't reach actual humans have have to wait for return calls. When you do get to speak with someone, there are no appointments for necessary specialty care in the time you need it. Patients are told to go to the ER if things get too bad. When you do that, the patient has to deal with long waits and is not able to get a room for days. It's terrible. I never want to hear people complaining about patients using the ER again - there isn't care available anywhere else. [/quote]

My mother abroad had to wait for the health system to send her letters for appointments. They sent her one for a CAT scan for a very bad headache. It arrived a week after a brain hemorrhage - the headache was an indication of the looming hemorrhage. She should have been sent straight to the ER by the doctor, which is where she ended up anyway in the middle of the night.[/quote]

This is a legitimate issue for countries that have a single payer system.
I think France has a good model, however. Everyone has access to socialized medicine. But there is also a 2nd tier where you can pay out of pocket. So when my relative had to schedule a surgery, instead of going to the public hospital he went to a private clinic. [/quote]

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