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Or is it just me.. is it maybe my area where the doctors aren't doing the jobs that they should? For example I've had this small lump on the side of my belly button for 7 or 8 years now, and never knew what it was until about 3 years ago, I had been to the doctor's about once a month for check ups till I was 18 and no doctor would tell me what it was just that it was "not bad enough to worry about yet." Well finally when i was 20 i got a straight answer from a doctor during a physical for my drivers liscence. What I've had for the past 7 years was a hernia, and of course now I have no insurance to get it removed, granted it doesn't hurt, but I'm screwed if it starts. And I think it'd have just been nice to know what it was in the first place. Around here it seems that it is just "Take two and you'll be fine," that's all they do around here, stuff drugs in you and don't even have the courtesy to say what they are for. Like the intestinal infection I had, had to describe the symptoms I had to someone else to find out what it was, and what possibly caused it, my doctor just shoved 4 kinds of meds in me. They like this anywhere else?
ah, the goold ole days when doctors either knew what they were doing or acted like they did. Ya know the days before you had to see a different specialist for every single symptom?? I've NO idea what has changed but feel the change wasn't for the good. Back to basics sounds better and better.
Gone are the days when doctors actually took some time to talk to their patients, these days it is in and out in 5 minutes. That is what happens when you have "for profit" medical insurance and they don't want to pay the doctors a decent amount for an office visit , so guess what, the office visits get cut shorter and shorter so they (the doctor) can make the money through volume. Add to that the time they have to spend on paperwork with the million insurance companies... the health care system we have sucks, IMO.
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The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. ~Henry David Thoreau
When I have chronic conditions, especially chronic pain I get somewhat mediocre care and glazed-over looks. When I have had a serious problem, especially one that is probably an "interesting case" I've had much better care, and just found the doctors (typically specialists) to be much sharper, more dynamic. These better doctors also tend to be very committed to communication and patient education.
I actually stayed with the same doctor for about 20 years because he was so good, but we moved and it was a long way to drive. Found someone else who was excellent IMO, but after about a year, he quit to go to the Cooper Clinic here. His "replacement" to my delight was also excellent, but he again has moved his practice too far for me to commute to!
So in short, with some research, I have found some excellent physicians (and I'm picky about this!) but I can't seem to hold onto them!
Ok. Your sitiation sucks and I recognize that, but this is a little harsh and one-sided. Doctors have exorbitant patient loads and a lot of people are seeking care that might not have dreamed of it back in the "good old days." We should be pissed off in general at the state of our healthcare system and want to get involved in our care, and especially encourage people to study healthcare. I am not a doctor and yes I think many of them are pricks, but they generally seem to be good at diagnosing and treating pathologies.
When I have chronic conditions, especially chronic pain I get somewhat mediocre care and glazed-over looks. When I have had a serious problem, especially one that is probably an "interesting case" I've had much better care, and just found the doctors (typically specialists) to be much sharper, more dynamic. These better doctors also tend to be very committed to communication and patient education.
That's because "specialist" have the time to sit down and listen, most see at most 10 patients a day, where as a family doctor sees on average 30-45 patients a day, do the math as to how much time the average person gets......not a whole lot. Also, specialist can see just a few patients because they make a buck load of money.
I know this system all to well, iv'e been in the field for 15yrs.
There is however a new generation of doctors coming up all over the states, called "boutique", "retainer", "concierge" These doctors for an anual membership fee limit their practice to a few hundred patients as opposed to couple of thousand, so these doctors are able to only see a few patients a day allowing patients to get the time they need from their doctor.
You can have that good old fashioned doctor that you want.......for a price.
Ok. Your sitiation sucks and I recognize that, but this is a little harsh and one-sided. Doctors have exorbitant patient loads and a lot of people are seeking care that might not have dreamed of it back in the "good old days." We should be pissed off in general at the state of our healthcare system and want to get involved in our care, and especially encourage people to study healthcare. I am not a doctor and yes I think many of them are pricks, but they generally seem to be good at diagnosing and treating pathologies.
Yes it is harsh, I am a person who lets my opinions be known, and it is harsh because I have been treated wrongly by doctors, again I bring up the 5 years of having a hernia and not knowing what it was because the doctors refused to tell me... are thier patient loads so exorbitant that they can't take the 2 seconds to answer "what is it?" with "its a hernia"? If so they need to quit their job cuz thats not how its done. Sorry to anyone this may offend but if you cannot take the time to tell your patient what is wrong with him or her then you should not be a doc. Like the intestinal infection I had I to ask a doctor who I was freinds with online about it to find out what it was, then found out it was probably caused by injesting raw egg from where I worked at the time, not willingly, there was just so much of it it was hard not to when I took a drink from my cup after cleaning up large amounts of egg, but thats beside the point... would it have killed the doc that got paid to diagnose me to tell me this? I mean it only would have taken 2 more minutes. My belief that 95% of doctors are anal, and especially the ones in this area remains firm. Till I see proof that they are not, my opinion will not change.
That's because "specialist" have the time to sit down and listen, most see at most 10 patients a day, where as a family doctor sees on average 30-45 patients a day, do the math as to how much time the average person gets......not a whole lot. Also, specialist can see just a few patients because they make a buck load of money.
I know this system all to well, iv'e been in the field for 15yrs.
There is however a new generation of doctors coming up all over the states, called "boutique", "retainer", "concierge" These doctors for an anual membership fee limit their practice to a few hundred patients as opposed to couple of thousand, so these doctors are able to only see a few patients a day allowing patients to get the time they need from their doctor.
You can have that good old fashioned doctor that you want.......for a price.
For me, this doesn't quite fit. I've had wonderful GP's who were very thorough when I had just boring sore throats, allergies, etc. And again, when I was in the midst of a medical emergency (protracted, long story), everyone was very engaged and thorough. But the chronic pain (in my case migraine) seems to cause everyone to check out and I agree, it is boring and I feel boring having this problem. Overall I think about one in five doctors I encounter merits switching for one reason or another - some are just inconsiderate and impatient; others (in this ratio) just don't have it all together, don't think clearly, don't follow through, etc. But still, that means that means I've liked about 80% of my doctors and my child's doctors.
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