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Yes, our system is a mess. One of the primary factors is the abuse from the doctors themselves.
About 4 years ago I went in for my bi-annual physical. All the tests, xrays, blood etc.
I told my doctor, I'm too bloody busy to sit in your waiting room (okay, it was nicer that that), so please don't call unless there's something wrong...OTHER than my cholestorol being a little high.
He said fine.
3 days later I get a call from the nurse telling me the doctor wants me to come in.
After a restless night in bed and wondering what I had, I went back to the doctor.
I was in a fairly long lineup and heard two people in front of me tell me that there appointments were for 10:05 and 10:10 respectively. MY appointment was for 10AM.
I stood and waited for a seat to come available because the waiting room was PACKED. Over an hour later, I got in to see the doctor.
He pulled out my file and read the results, "It seems your cholestorol is a little high." I was in there for about 2 minutes.
I'm already fucking pissed about the hour long wait because the doctor was overbooked. I tore a strip off of him and went up to the administration to file a complaint about the abuse.
By abuse, I mean that our doctors are paid in 15 minutes blocks per appointment, regular ones that is. Physicals are 45 minutes I believe. This guy was BOOKING appointments 5 minutes apart.
Anyways, I told the administrator that he wasted my time by overbooking and making me wait, and my tax dollars were being thrown away when he's being paid for 15 minutes, when I'm only in there for 2 and he's knowingly booking them 5 minutes apart.
The adminstrator just looked at me and said, "That's the system, and there's nothing we can really do about it".
Oh, the administrator just happened to be my wife's gynecologist, so as a doctor himself, what else is he gonna say.
So, when people tell me that there's no money for our health system, I just tell this story and they shut the fuck up fast.
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