Everybody knows how frustrating it is today when you have to visit the doctor's office or an emergency room. It comes as no surprise to anyone when the staff would rather have you bleed all over the floor to make certain that all the insurance forms are filled out properly rather than get you immediate attention. And then regardless of the discomfort you're in, outside of full blown cardiac arrest, you're herded into a waiting room for what seems like days.
For the most part it's not the health care professionals that I feel cause this bottleneck. I find it inconceivable that a doctor or their staff would enjoy the reams of paperwork that needs to be filled out on their patients when they visit. I mean you go to med school for how many years to become a paper jockey? I went to school for a fraction of that time to become an EMT and the last thing on my mind that I choose to do is the run report. You want to practice what you were taught to do. That's what brought you to the field in the first place!
The reason for this inconvenience is two-fold. The first being a need to cover themselves from a malpractice lawsuit and the second is the almighty dollar. I fully understand the first issue. Unlike our European friends we here in the USA live in a litigation crazy world where the loss of your livelihood is only a court appearance away. As aggravating as that alone is, it's the second issue that chaps my rump and a million others like me. It's the fact that the insurance companies are more interested in their bottom line than the policy holder's well being. Gone are the days of a lollipop and a twenty-five dollar office visit. Enter the days of forty-five dollar acetaminophen, aspirin to you and I but it sounds more expensive that way, and about a grand a day for the room alone. And we can't forget the plethora of individuals lined up with their hands out for everything from ten minute consultations to obscenely priced lab time.
It is truly a wonder how far we've come from the days of house calls and real compassion for the patient. Clinics and hospitals have forced everyone working within them to be so aware of their bottom line that they miss the real reason why a lot of them got into the field in the first place. I personally don't feel like I have an identity any more. They just stack them up and run them out so fast that they hardly get to know you. And if you are lucky enough to have the same family doctor for a period of more than a year, chances are you'll pay more out of your pocket sooner than you think when the policy changes and the new list of individuals who share in the plan does not include them.
This is the part where I step aside and let someone take over who writes a bit more eloquently than I do. Someone who's articles I really enjoy reading and who I think puts this whole thing in perfect perspective. It's by Denny Hatch, and he wrote an article titled “Sicko” — Did Michael Moore Get It Right? A Comparison of Emergency Rooms on Two Continents. Even though I'd be the first person to say that anything involving the words of Michael Moore wouldn't warrant my attention, I think you'll find it most interesting.
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