Shamefull Health Care USA

I hate dwelling on health problems. It’s a shame that as we grow older this topic has to occupy so much of our time. I long for the days that I got up in the morning pain free and went through my day without a single thought of health related issues crossing my mind. That is no longer the case and I am gravely disappointed at the state of care in this country.

Flash back to 1963, Elmwood Park, Tonawanda NY. The neighborhood that I grew up in was nice middle class and both my Doctor and Dentist lived across the street. Dr Britt was a GP, and he and his family lived in a modest 2 story home in our quiet neighborhood, not in a gated Mc Mansion. I had a high fever and at 2AM my mother got concerned enough to call Dr Britt to get some advice. He came over in his PJ’s and gave me a shot of antibiotics and the fever broke in a few hours. This was not special care for the privileged; it was compassionate responsible application of his Hippocratic Oath.

Flash to 1987, Lockport NY, my youngest daughter, 18 months old at the time, was up crying and clutching her right arm to her chest in obvious pain. Thinking she may have broken her clavicle, or dislocated her arm at day care, I called her Dr’s service at 8PM. He returned my call much later and informed me that I should give her a Tylenol and bring her to his office in the morning as my insurance (supposed to be the best around) frowned on the use of the emergency room. He wanted me to put a baby to bed with a possible broken bone because the insurance company didn’t always pay for emergency treatments (not smart to rile the mama bear). I told him that I had plenty of money to go along with my insurance and not to ever make my families medical decisions based on an insurance company policy. Furthermore if he did not wish to meet me at the emergency room, our new pediatrician would. He met me there, put her dislocated elbow back into place and I found a new Doctor the following week. Doctors were by then being paid bonuses by the insurance companies for minimizing care and testing of their patients and insurance guys were now directing medical decisions.

Fast forward to 2009, American Doctors are now the millionaires in our society, well paid with the best educations in the world. Technology has advanced at such warp speed medical care concerns must be all but erased, right? Not so fast! I find myself in a system that ranks 37^th in the industrialized world supported by inadequate expensive insurance plans, staffed by ambivalent Doctors, that treat patients (especially Women over 50) as invisible and expendable. Today one in 8 deaths in our country are a result of medical mistakes. The number one ranked country, France, has a national policy that doctors salaries are capped at $50,000 a year so everyone can afford medical care. Millions of families, mostly the working poor, are uninsured and are unable to get any care at all.

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

I have recently developed a painful and potentially dangerous condition and called my new Florida doctor, only to be told that it would be 3 weeks until he could see me. I went to urgent care and $150 and two hours later I left with an antibiotic (just like in 1963). When that only temporarily helped my condition, I again called my physicians office. I was told that I could see another doctor in the practice (again 3weeks to see my doctor: why wasn’t I offered this option before?). I agreed to come in the next day. I arrived 15 minutes early and waited an hour. As I sat in the exam room I heard the doctor in the hall, pitching a temper tantrum because he had patients scheduled during his lunch time. He blew into the exam room and rushed me through a terse conversation, dismissed my request for a specialist referral and rudely scolded me as I was supposed to be only “quick rash appointment”. I paid full price for the half assed appointment and started looking for a new doctor that afternoon. Medical professional or not this man is my employee and he is fired.

Our system is broken, and I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t want to live in a country where people die because they cannot afford medical care. I don’t want to live in a country where only the rich can afford preventive medical care. I don’t want to live in a country that ranks behind Costa Rica and Dominica for any reason! Maybe we could sample the 36 countries that rank above us in the world and take their best practices and learn from their mistakes. Mr. President, we are waiting, because you promised……