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The doctor shortage is projected to continue to worsen over at least the next 10 years in the US. Already, accessibility and cost have become so bad that many people are forgoing medical care they really shouldn’t, rationing medications, and the like.
Given the dire situation, what about making some lower-risk prescription drugs over-the-counter? Forcing people to go to the doctor to get what they know they want/need seems like a waste of scarce doctor hours that could be better spent where it is really needed.
The worst case is “doctor shopping” where people make multiple appointments until they get a drug they want. Seems the sensible thing would be to just let them buy it.
Of course pharmacists should be available to explain the risks and benefits of the drug, but why should the state mandate that it go through a physician?
Same thing for eyeglasses and medical devices - why not make the doctor optional?
The doctor shortage is projected to continue to worsen over at least the next 10 years in the US. Already, accessibility and cost have become so bad that many people are forgoing medical care they really shouldn’t, rationing medications, and the like.
Given the dire situation, what about making some lower-risk prescription drugs over-the-counter? Forcing people to go to the doctor to get what they know they want/need seems like a waste of scarce doctor hours that could be better spent where it is really needed.
The worst case is “doctor shopping” where people make multiple appointments until they get a drug they want. Seems the sensible thing would be to just let them buy it.
Of course pharmacists should be available to explain the risks and benefits of the drug, but why should the state mandate that it go through a physician?
Same thing for eyeglasses and medical devices - why not make the doctor optional?
When I visited and then lived in Thailand, I experienced sort of what you are talking about. At least back then (and I mean as late as 2010), you could go into any pharmacy and just ask for almost any standard drug without a prescription (for example, my heart medication...Metoprolol, my blood pressure medicine...lisinopril, antibiotics, etc.). The problem was that uneducated people would be asking for a drug they were not educated enough to understand. And druggists would say things like, "This is the same as...", even though some of the drugs were not "the same as", but simply treated similar symptoms.
On the other hand, I've been on my heart medication for 30 years, my blood pressure medicine for even longer, and to have to go in every couple of years for an appointment just to "review medications", burns me up...it's a money grab.
Yes! The government also has made it harder to get meds from foreign pharmacies. They are putting the squeeze on us and it is hurting people.
There are legit overseas pharmacies that people who cannot afford meds in the US have used, but pressure was put in the banks/CC companies to disallow transactions with them. So payment is difficult and there is also risk of customs seizure.
With a doctor shortage it would take a lot of pressure off of patients to give common meds OTC status. It was very helpful when antacid meds went OTC.
Short answer-- that's symptomatic treatment, a cardinal sin in the practice of medicine, vs getting at the root cause (a new job for Kamala?) of the problem....While many problems can be handled the easy way without running into problems, there would be an increased risk of missing diagnoses until it's too late, etc....
...How much extra risk are you willing to accept?
Illustrative story-- I was in med school when the malpractice thing started to escalate, and coincidently there was developing an increased interest in self-determination for pts and decision making. We were headed towards "the customer is always right" in medical practice...
...so the time would come when a pt would come in and demand a castration operation. The doc would start to protest, but then remember "the customer is always right." He'd a admit the pt and do the surgery. The next morning, the pt would wake up and start a conversation with his roommate-- "What are you here for?".."Oh, I'm here to have a circumcision."...The first pt would freeze with a horrified look on his face. "Circumcision?....Circumcision?...That's the word! That's the word!!"
The doctor shortage is projected to continue to worsen over at least the next 10 years in the US. Already, accessibility and cost have become so bad that many people are forgoing medical care they really shouldn’t, rationing medications, and the like.
Given the dire situation, what about making some lower-risk prescription drugs over-the-counter? Forcing people to go to the doctor to get what they know they want/need seems like a waste of scarce doctor hours that could be better spent where it is really needed.
The worst case is “doctor shopping” where people make multiple appointments until they get a drug they want. Seems the sensible thing would be to just let them buy it.
Of course pharmacists should be available to explain the risks and benefits of the drug, but why should the state mandate that it go through a physician?
Same thing for eyeglasses and medical devices - why not make the doctor optional?
Well, with eyeglasses things have changed a bit, though the doctor is not exactly optional, you're supposed to get your eyes examined each year and that's probably a good idea. But you don't have to buy your glasses from the eye doctor anymore. You can ask for your prescription from your exam, on paper, make sure you get your pupillary distance (they may not automatically give it to you) and then go somewhere like Zenni.com and order cheap glasses. Like $20 instead of $200.
I agree that there are a lot of things that are messed up about American healthcare. There are drugs sold here for vastly higher prices than they are sold in other countries. The insurance companies have us all by the short hairs. It sucks.
But I've gotta say that some things are better than they've been in the past.
Urgent care wasn't a thing when I was a kid. My Mom would take me to the ER for anything, because they wouldn't turn us away even if she never paid them. Many nights we sat there for ages waiting for somebody to give me antibiotics for a sinus infection, or some other treatment for what wasn't really an emergency, because she couldn't be bothered to have me in to see a regular doctor like a normal person. I really love the whole concept of Urgent Care. For a doctor's copay ($20) I've been able to get my sons seen for all sorts of minor injuries and ailments that are not quite life threatening emergencies, and I'm sure it's eased pressure on emergency rooms at hospitals.
And telemedicine is a really cool option now, that I'm sure saves doctors a lot of time and circumvents the need to actually go in and see someone for a number of possible things.
I mean, there have been admissions by a man who worked PR for a huge health insurance conglomerate that he spun a story for the media that really took hold and was spread far and wide, that countries that have nationalized healthcare have dramatically substandard treatment, that without the profit motive, no one will bother to do the job or do it well, that people in those countries get on long waiting lists and can't even get emergency care... But he admitted it was all lies.
Oh, another change since I was a young person... When I was 18, I got tossed off my father's health insurance (which was never great to begin with) and had no idea how to seek medical care on my own and no health insurance to help me meet the costs.
Now my sons are young adults, and thanks to the ACA (the dreaded "Obamacare") they are able to be on my health insurance until age 26 and I am continuing to provide that for them, happily. It isn't perfect...there can still be high bills for some kinds of treatment, but it's better than nothing. Which is what they would likely have otherwise.
Prescriptions are one thing but I feel that simply going to a doctor for a checkup when you are healthy and don't have any issues isn't necessary. For example, why should someone go to the doctor just to get a prescription for a mammogram when the doctor could simply fax it in? I was told to get a colonoscopy and was forced to go to a specialist for a "consultation". The consultation was literally 2 minutes; the doctor came in, said hello, rifled through my forms, and then said, "you'll be in and out of the procedure in 15 minutes", then left. He asked no questions about my prior medical history or whether I had any symptoms or issues. The consultation was very disruptive to my work day and cut my entire work day in half. I had to battle traffic to get to his office, pay for parking, and it could all have been avoided by simply reading my forms and then emailing me if there were any questions. There was literally no reason for me to go there--except for him to get his payment from the insurance company.
You can order 30 days supply of prescription drug from overseas pharmacy ,it may take longer as our customs office is overworked and their computers are old
Prescriptions are one thing but I feel that simply going to a doctor for a checkup when you are healthy and don't have any issues isn't necessary. For example, why should someone go to the doctor just to get a prescription for a mammogram when the doctor could simply fax it in? I was told to get a colonoscopy and was forced to go to a specialist for a "consultation". The consultation was literally 2 minutes; the doctor came in, said hello, rifled through my forms, and then said, "you'll be in and out of the procedure in 15 minutes", then left. He asked no questions about my prior medical history or whether I had any symptoms or issues. The consultation was very disruptive to my work day and cut my entire work day in half. I had to battle traffic to get to his office, pay for parking, and it could all have been avoided by simply reading my forms and then emailing me if there were any questions. There was literally no reason for me to go there--except for him to get his payment from the insurance company.
Yeah, ok I agree that a lot of the nonsense "consultations" to set things up are extraneous and are likely related to just...how the money flows and the process works through insurance.
I do think that people who "feel well" should still see their doctor and be screened for cancer periodically. But I am guilty of not going every year. And it isn't just the cost out of my pocket, as you say, it's the whole disruption to my schedule. We are busy people!
I would definitely hope that with the shortage of doctors and the fact that sometimes it's hard to even get seen, they would cut back on "meetings that should have been emails" or whatever. I mean, if nothing else, if they just needed to see your face, they could have done that via telemedicine or something!
When we first moved here, my husband had a devil of a time finding a new primary care doctor and getting an initial appointment. And he had a problem with some dizziness, vertigo and nasty headaches that he'd been trying to get figured out...they'd ruled out the really scary stuff, but it was (and is) still a big mystery about what caused any of it. But yeah, the doctors who were even taking new patients and our insurance, which is one of the big name insurance plans, so should be accepted by most...they were booked out up to 5 or 6 months!
I am currently going through this maze to receive my Blood pressure meds. I have gone through 2 drs so far that order blood work and then say they will not refill my meds unless I come back in. Last Dr. we discussed my blood work and he wanted them done again in 7 weeks and then come back. My labs were fine, with one a couple digits high. I checked my past labs and they fluctuate here and there every year with nothing concerning. He didn't care to see past labs. When I called for my medication they said they would not fill it till I came back in 7 weeks when I was just there a week prior. I have never had to deal with this nonsense before and I am tired of looking for new Drs. I used teladoc to receive my refill and am currently trying Hawthorne and Dandelion so I can avoid Drs completely.
I no longer trust the medical industry as the attitude is poor and they really do not give a dam about my health or they would give me required meds that I do need.
After reading these posts, it re-affirmed my decision to retire as close to the Mexican border as I could afford as I didn't want to live my retirement years hassling with doctors and insurance companies.
I worked with Filipino's in a LTC/Rehab facility and they're perplexed as to why you need a prescription for something they buy over-the-counter in the Philippines, same with the Mexicans living here. I'm surprised that we don't even need a prescription for Aspirin in this country. And it's unlikely it'll ever change.
In Nogales, Mx (65 miles south of Tucson) I found a gem of a Doctor at a clinic for the poorest of the poor, he charges $3.50 for a visit, and $3 for a prescription, which is hardly necessary anyway, unless it be for Ambien. This wonderful Dr. saved me from having neck surgery, which I was pressured to get from an Ortho in the U.S. Totally unnecessary, all I needed was some Gabipine. Only one pill and the tingling disappeared, never to re-occur.
There's some outstanding Doctors in various parts of the world that could be working here, but the AMA makes it all but impossible for them to pass the testing here. In essence, there's no Doctor shortage.
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