Close Encounter With The Health System.

[Dondilion]

I spent some time recently in the hospital and have some reflections.

The ER was well equipped and the people were conscientious, knowledgeable and very professional.

The ICU also seemed to be similarly manned.

After Care: Watch out for pill pushers and check for unusual side effects. Also be aware of dialysis pushers. Just a whiff, a mention of anything relating to the kidneys and here comes the dialysis pushers...that seems to be a big business.

Doctors appear to work within the constrains of Big Pharma.
However judging by the complains of relatives and friends who reside in Canada or the UK, our health care system seem to be ahead.
I am grateful to be recipient.

[donquixote99]

Welcome back to the world. Quality of health care can vary a lot depending on whether you get some of the really good doctors.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

I spent some time recently in the hospital and have some reflections.

The ER was well equipped and the people were conscientious, knowledgeable and very professional.

The ICU also seemed to be similarly manned.

After Care: Watch out for pill pushers and check for unusual side effects. Also be aware of dialysis pushers. Just a whiff, a mention of anything relating to the kidneys and here comes the dialysis pushers...that seems to be a big business.

Doctors appear to work within the constrains of Big Pharma.
However judging by the complains of relatives and friends who reside in Canada or the UK, our health care system seem to be ahead.
I am grateful to be recipient.

Listen to your doctors, gramps. This place might get boring without you.

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by bobabode

Listen to your doctors, gramps. This place might get boring without you.

I get the impression that doctors who work in institutions are pressured to prescribe certain drugs whenever a threshold is indicated on a lab report.
For instance people who are judged to have pre diabetes 11 are urged to take drugs instead of first undertaking a dietary response.
There seems to be a push for statins even when cholesterol is borderline.

Re After Care one has to be very vigilant with regards to bad side effects
For example one of the drugs I was given can snap your Achilles heel. I discovered that side effect on my own and had to stop taking it when I realized my achilles heel was getting tender.
Anyhow I am very grateful to have easy access to various specialists. My Canadian and British relatives are always bellyaching about the long wait for a specialist.

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Welcome back to the world. Quality of health care can vary a lot depending on whether you get some of the really good doctors.

Thanks! I was fortunate to have a sharp General Practitioner plus I do regular check ups.

[donquixote99]

Let me reinforce the point about after-care and side effects. I was seeing an orthopedist and a physical therapist for upper arm and shoulder pain. The doctor had gone as far as mentioning that surgery might be an option. Then I twigged to the fact that I was taking statins and they could be doing it. I cut them out and the pain just went away. I had been pressured to go on the statins even though borderline I don't think I ever really needed them. And neither the orthopedist nor anyone else ever suggested that my pain could have been due to them, I had to diagnose myself.

[Chicks]

A year ago today I was released from the hospital after a sextuple bypass. I'm SO thankful that LBJ managed to twist enough arms to get Medicare enacted; I'll NEVER vote for a Repube, as the GOP has tried to dismantle SS and Medicare for ages.

Kaiser charged me a grand total of $850 for this extensive procedure - amazing. Also extremely happy to have a non-profit for my provider, don't have to worry one iota about greedy for-profit insurance companies and hospitals that are beholden to Wall Street, not to patients.

The care that Kaiser provides is first rate. I was pleased that, the night before surgery, my privates were shaved by some cute young Asian ladies, lol. The ICU nurses were also young and pretty. My recovery nurse was a Ukrainian male - can't win 'em all!