Health care in the US has gone down the toilet.

It can't be as bad as the health care in England,
the hospitals here cannot accommodate patients,
I don't know if it is shortage of staff, or of space,
I think that it is staff.
I know that there are many empty wards, yet they
are treating people in hospital corridors, taking
away any dignity that they have left.

These are public corridors, that the public use.

Mike.
Corridor care in England.jpg
 
squatting dog said:
And the crap gets deeper. I'm starting to see a pattern developing. Just yesterday, I broke my glasses. Grabbed my back up ones. Figured this was good timing as it was time for my yearly eye exam. Good news... my vision hasn't changed at all. So, I ask them to go ahead and make me another pair of glasses.

No can do is the reply. o_O First, you must go to these referrals and have more tests done. If my vision hasn't changed, why can't you just get a second pair of glasses? :mad: Well, this led me on a search to find another eye glass place somewhere nearby. Well... surprise, surprise,every one of them is part of a system called "eyecare partners"... which just happens to belong to a... SURPRISE... private equity firm. :mad::mad: Shit.......
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Oh, the old "doctor-go-round".
 
squatting dog said:
And the crap gets deeper. I'm starting to see a pattern developing. Just yesterday, I broke my glasses. Grabbed my back up ones. Figured this was good timing as it was time for my yearly eye exam. Good news... my vision hasn't changed at all. So, I ask them to go ahead and make me another pair of glasses.

No can do is the reply. o_O First, you must go to these referrals and have more tests done. If my vision hasn't changed, why can't you just get a second pair of glasses? :mad: Well, this led me on a search to find another eye glass place somewhere nearby. Well... surprise, surprise,every one of them is part of a system called "eyecare partners"... which just happens to belong to a... SURPRISE... private equity firm. :mad::mad: Shit.......
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I have not experienced this. That just sounds like another way of price gouging. The greed in this country is outrageous.
 
Mike said:
It can't be as bad as the health care in England,
the hospitals here cannot accommodate patients,
I don't know if it is shortage of staff, or of space,
I think that it is staff.
I know that there are many empty wards, yet they
are treating people in hospital corridors, taking
away any dignity that they have left.

These are public corridors, that the public use.

Mike.
View attachment 498554
Click to expand...
It's a nursing shortage. I think it's everywhere. Most of it is cuz of covid.
 
Jeni said:
Patients are the customer and sadly need to stand up for themselves or loved ones to get the service they need. Most will take people seriously when you do not just fall for the basic dismissal. escalation is OK.
Also, if you do have a bad experience they will not address make complaint to your insurance company or the state they are licensed in. .... They need to know.
Insurance companies credential doctors on a schedule and complaints can lead to DR unable to take that insurance.
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Jenni, unfortunately (and sadly) the patient is no longer the client. In most cases today the "client" is in actual fact the insurance company or the government (Medicare, Medicaid, V.A., etc.). So hospitals and most private doctors do whatever those entities dictate, without regard as to what the patient wants or needs.

In many cases it's surprising how little the individual doctor makes per visit. That encourages the docs to see more patients quicker in a short amount of time in order to make overhead and profit. Hospitals make money by encouraging (or requiring) their staff to order expensive, and oftentimes unnecessary tests (e.g. colonoscopies) that are a big profit maker for the institution.

The only solution is to ban insurance or third party pay, which may not be possible. You'd see prices come down so fast that your head would spin. When people are paying with their own hard earned dollars they'd be far pickier about the treatment and recommendations that they'd accept.

I --and I'm sure many on this forum-- grew up before "health" insurance (really accident and sickness insurance) was common.
The truly needy were treated by religious or other charitable hospitals at low or no cost.

I'm going to leave it at that. The "health" treatment system in the U.S. is broken, and needs major changes.
 
ChiroDoc said:
Jenni, unfortunately (and sadly) the patient is no longer the client. In most cases today the "client" is in actual fact the insurance company or the government (Medicare, Medicaid, V.A., etc.). So hospitals and most private doctors do whatever those entities dictate, without regard as to what the patient wants or needs.

In many cases it's surprising how little the individual doctor makes per visit. That encourages the docs to see more patients quicker in a short amount of time in order to make overhead and profit. Hospitals make money by encouraging (or requiring) their staff to order expensive, and oftentimes unnecessary tests (e.g. colonoscopies) that are a big profit maker for the institution.

The only solution is to ban insurance or third party pay, which may not be possible. You'd see prices come down so fast that your head would spin. When people are paying with their own hard earned dollars they'd be far pickier about the treatment and recommendations that they'd accept.

I --and I'm sure many on this forum-- grew up before "health" insurance (really accident and sickness insurance) was common.
The truly needy were treated by religious or other charitable hospitals at low or no cost.

I'm going to leave it at that. The "health" treatment system in the U.S. is broken, and needs major changes.
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I have had better results in speaking up and not just doing what dr said especially if they were not listening..
There are big differences if you treat them as a partner instead of putting up with " that is the way things are" even if I had to speak up to insurance as well. many people simply do not advocate for themselves.
 
squatting dog said:
Some time back, I mentioned how my dr had perscribed some meds to me, that when taken together, had the chance to put you in a coma or die. (something he wasn't even aware of). What a journey trying to find another dr. Seems to be plenty of incompetentance to go around. Example... Latest dr. Wife has been suffering with severe anxiety for several months now.

Dr visits, blood tests, we've done it all. Nothing... not a word... instead, they made her an appointment for a month from now. I can't get her to leave the house or property. How will I get her to a Dr? Today was the worst. (sitting in the dark and suffering involuntary twitching of her arms and legs. So, I call them and explain that it seems to be getting worse by the day and is there anyway to check what the latest blood test shows.

After the usual 3 different call transfers, and the usual "what's your insurance" bs, I finally get through to the Dr's assistant. Explain everything AGAIN and she say's they will get back to me today. Come in from picking up a delivery at my door and find a voice mail. "we understand that you're wife is concerned about you and we're checking your bloodwork now. o_O :mad: Shit... I guess the search will go on.
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Un-freakin'-believable SD! How frustrating to be in this situation while dealing with your wife's critical health issue. I hope she gets the care she needs from a qualified specialist very soon.
 
debodun said:
Now, unless it's what I consider an emergency, I only go to the doctor for my Medicare wellness visit. Why go when I am not going to take medicines thrust at me or have a procedure I don't want (like knee transplants), or do what the doctor says - "Lose weight, exercise, eat better."
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"why go . . . "

To have blood work done which can show abnormalitles needing attention, and to continue on medications essential to continuing health. If you don't plan to take any medications or have any procedures, then I guess you're right - just don't go.

If I didn't take my blood pressure medications, I would have had a stroke by now.
 
squatting dog said:
And the crap gets deeper. I'm starting to see a pattern developing. Just yesterday, I broke my glasses. Grabbed my back up ones. Figured this was good timing as it was time for my yearly eye exam. Good news... my vision hasn't changed at all. So, I ask them to go ahead and make me another pair of glasses.

No can do is the reply. o_O First, you must go to these referrals and have more tests done. If my vision hasn't changed, why can't you just get a second pair of glasses? :mad: Well, this led me on a search to find another eye glass place somewhere nearby. Well... surprise, surprise,every one of them is part of a system called "eyecare partners"... which just happens to belong to a... SURPRISE... private equity firm. :mad::mad: Shit.......
Click to expand...
When I wore prescription glasses for distance, ordering a second pair of glasses was no big deal. Costco offered a wide variety of frames, gives discounts on a second pair of glasses and tends to be less expensive than main street opticians or using insurance.

FYI, US federal law requires opticians to give you a copy of your prescription whether or not you request it.

Your insurance plan may cover only a single pair of glasses per year. You can certainly pay out-of-pocket for a second pair. If your town's optical centers are in cahoots, you can order glasses on line.
 
debodun said:
Why go when I am not going to take medicines thrust at me or have a procedure I don't want (like knee transplants), or do what the doctor says - "Lose weight, exercise, eat better."
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My PCP says this is one of his biggest frustrations. Patients refuse follow his advice to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise and eat a better diet, then suffer poor health and lack of vitality while complaining that their doctors do nothing to help them.

When people don't follow their doctors' advice, their poor health becomes their responsibility, not their doctors'.
 
StarSong said:
When I wore prescription glasses for distance, ordering a second pair of glasses was no big deal. Costco offered a wide variety of frames, gives discounts on a second pair of glasses and tends to be less expensive than main street opticians or using insurance.

FYI, US federal law requires opticians to give you a copy of your prescription whether or not you request it.

Your insurance plan may cover only a single pair of glasses per year. You can certainly pay out-of-pocket for a second pair. If your town's optical centers are in cahoots, you can order glasses on line.
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Yep... already been to Zenni online. (y)
 
People are living longer and there is a full blown of baby boomer generation in thier seior years now. So there are more seniors with health issues. The current healthcare system may not have the capacity to support the increasing demand.
 
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StarSong said:
My PCP says this is one of his biggest frustrations. Patients refuse follow his advice to quit smoking, lose weight, exercise and eat a better diet, then suffer poor health and lack of vitality while complaining that their doctors do nothing to help them.

When people don't follow their doctors' advice, their poor health becomes their responsibility, not their doctors'.
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That's very true in many cases. But in actual fact many docs don't bother to advise patients to lose weight, exercise, etc., because patients simply won't do it. Most are looking for a magic pill.

For the most part there's very little incentive in modern medical practice for prescribing prevention or life style modification. OTOH there's tremendous incentive to simply prescribe popular drugs that are usually the standard of care (SOC) which is heavily promoted by big pharma.
 
ChiroDoc said:
That's very true in many cases. But in actual fact many docs don't bother to advise patients to lose weight, exercise, etc., because patients simply won't do it. Most are looking for a magic pill.

For the most part there's very little incentive in modern medical practice for prescribing prevention or life style modification. OTOH there's tremendous incentive to simply prescribe popular drugs that are usually the standard of care (SOC) which is heavily promoted by big pharma.
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Unfortunately, that ^
 
ChiroDoc said:
For the most part there's very little incentive in modern medical practice for prescribing prevention or life style modification. OTOH there's tremendous incentive to simply prescribe popular drugs that are usually the standard of care (SOC) which is heavily promoted by big pharma.
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As an overall industry, perhaps. But my experience shows nearly all docs actually care about their patients as people and want them to have healthier lives.
 
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