STEAM ROOM FOR ANGER
Comments
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since this is the steam room....
I absolutely hate the dunking on Canadian health care.
It's making me livid.
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Yay ctmbsikia! They ask me if I’m a HCW because I use real medical terms 😉
Runor - that all sounds frustrating as all hell.I have no opinion or info on Canadian healthcare... I’ve been super lucky with my health care for the past 20 yrs or so... so I’ll just sit here with my mouth shut.
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moth - Same here. Cancer or not, we've had great care.
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Health care seems to be a crap shoot no matter where you live. I'm a patient at MD Anderson in Houston, "We're #1!!!" Well, the stories I could tell about the "premier" treatment center.
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Runor--I'm so sorry about the damn wait time on your appointment. I had a "thickened endometrium" finding from a scan back in February (I'm post-menopausal and NO, I did NOT fall this week, last week, or the week before that). I made an appointment with a gyn onc and was given that horrible uterine biopsy where I wanted to stand straight up in the stirrups and kick someone in the nads. If I ever hear the words "you'll feel a little pressure" again I'm buying a firearm. The finding was basically inconclusive because they didn't get a "sufficient" amount of whatever they were digging for in there, though it felt like they were using a garden shovel on my privates.
Fast forward to day before yesterday where I spent all effing day in the "acute care facility" because I was having a pain in my side. Got a CT scan where nothing was found but oh by the way, that pesky thickened endometrium, tho!!
So they have no idea what caused my pain but we must talk about this endometrium...again. I messaged my MO that we need to discuss a D&C and put this issue to bed one way or another; I'm tired of hearing about it and I AM NOT HAVING ANOTHER UTERINE BIOPSY WITHOUT BEING SEDATED SO FORGET IT. I'm sure he will tell me I cannot have a D&C during chemo to which I will respond "then quit talking about my damn endometrium if you can't do anything about it." They can just take the stupid uterus if they want it; I couldn't care less. I have already disowned my stupid tits because they are trying to kill me, and now my uterus. Well... TAKE THEM ALL.
OK. I feel better now. And I will appreciate it if I don't get any lectures; I'm JUST VENTING. And I didn't fall today.
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Moth and Serenity, our system is broken. I also have had great care, but also terrible service. One should not confuse great care with great service. They are not the same. Perhaps if one has spent their life in large Canadian centers where the level of care/service is vastly different, it is not possible to compare what your rural counterparts put up with. For example, I needed blood work. Today I showed up at the lab at 11. There were other people standing outside the doors, waiting, in the hot sun. No chairs. We have an elderly population and they we all are, standing there. At 11:30 a lady came out and said they were closing for lunch and sent us all away to reappear at 12:30. So we all sit in our cars or drive in circles for an hour (restaurants are closed, no going for coffee) and at 12:30 we re-assemble. By 1:30 several have left in utter disgust AND RIGHTLY SO!! I am informed that the lab closes at 2 and I might have to come back tomorrow for a blood test. I got my blood taken at 1:40. Arrived at 11, blood draw at 1:40. This is broken. This is bullshit. This is how people fall through the cracks. This is how important information is not given to doctors, because people don't have TWO DAYS to give up waiting for blood draws! It may anger you that the Canadian healthcare system gets dirt kicked on it, but the Canadian healthcare system scores some losing grades in many areas. That you have had good service does not mean everyone has! Horror stories abound! Again , this is not the fault of nurses and doctors, but there is fault to own up to and someone who is grossly overpaid ought to stand up and take a knuckle sandwich to the eye over this shit level of management . If your lab closes at 2, to hell with a one hour lunch break, bring in another needle sticker over lunch. People only have their own lunch hour to get a blood draw and come to a closed lab? This is broken as hell! Some stupid people are paid too much to make stupid decisions and I'm mad about it. I want that over-paid suit to come stand in the hot sun for two days waiting to have a blood test and tell me if he thinks this is good service?
LW422 - it seems that in Europe a hysteroscopy is done under general anesthetic (from what I have been able to gather) but in Canada and US this is just a lay there and bite your lip, wide awake procedure. I am glad that I will be out like a light as I am having a D&C at the same time. I opted not to have the basic biopsy as it does indeed often turn up results that are inconclusive, and you end up having to have more tests because the first tests didn't find cancer, but can't rule it out either. Then why in the name of god do they even do those? I also feel like my female parts want to see me dead. I'm not sure what I did to piss them off but it must have been pretty bad!0 -
In my experience - and between myself (I'm 73) and my extended my family members we have gone through a lot of different issues, surgeries, and treatments - the Canadian health system is very good. We have always received good quality and timely diagnoses and care. But that being said, I do live in a big city with access to all types of specialists and a lot of good hospitals. I agree that service is not equally good everywhere. People in rural and remote communities do not have the same level of medical resources. That seems to be true in every medical system whether public, private or two-tier hybrids. Of course it is not "free". Canadians pay for it in their taxes and most are pleased to do so. Even our most conservative politicians won't try to reverse our public health care as it would be political suicide. Runor, I sympathize with your plight as it sounds like you are in a rural area where resources are not sufficient for local needs. Could you possibly arrange to travel to another area to get faster attention and care? I wish you the best in getting the care you need.
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I had to laugh about the bills being sent. After my Mom died I had to wait for the estate to be settled before I could pay her final bills. I sent the hospital a copy of her death certificate explaining the bill would be paid when I had access to her money. A month later they called and said they were going to send her bill to a collection agency. I laughed and said" I don't think Mom cares what her credit rating is."
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Runor: Best wishes being beemed to you for the 20th. I will also add that with the amount of money spent on cancer you would think they would have a better handle on it. I often think it's just a damn money making machine. I have a theory about ER's. You wait so fing long you never want to use one again.
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I agree with moth.
I can list off my criticisms of the "Canadian healthcare system" and I certainly have complaints about some aspects of my medical care (particularly in the current Covid environment) but when I look at each one, I realize that most often it's the doctor or the facility. Yes, sometimes it's the system, but even there, it's localized. Healthcare in Canada is provincial, it is not federal. What is federal are the following five principles:
Public Administration: The provincial and territorial plans must be administered and operated on a non profit basis by a public authority accountable to the provincial or territorial government.
Comprehensiveness: The provincial and territorial plans must insure all medically necessary services provided by hospitals, medical practitioners and dentists working within a hospital setting.
Universality: The provincial and territorial plans must entitle all insured persons to health insurance coverage on uniform terms and conditions.
Accessibility: The provincial and territorial plans must provide all insured persons reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without financial or other barriers.
Portability: The provincial and territorial plans must cover all insured persons when they move to another province or territory within Canada and when they travel abroad. The provinces and territories have some limits on coverage for services provided outside Canada, and may require prior approval for non-emergency services delivered outside their jurisdiction.
The rest is provincial. And the care is local. runor, you are right that those of us in big cities don't have the same experience as those in smaller locations. But don't you think that is true in the U.S. too? And other countries?. My choice to remain in a large city, in my retirement, is based in large part on the fact that I've had cancer, and I don't want to move somewhere where I'm not confident that I can get the care I need in a timely manner. It's a trade-off I choose to make. Similarly, after living for several years in the U.S., when I had the opportunity to accept a job that would have required me to stay there permanently, I decided to return to Canada in part because of the healthcare.
runor, your experiences are your experiences. They are valid, but they don't represent the Canadian healthcare system. They represent your experience, based on the facilities where you live and your doctors. My experiences are different. When I need blood work, I usually get in the same day or the next day, with results available to me on-line by end of day. I've never had to wait more than 10 minutes. X-rays a usually walk-in. Recently I had a cancer scare. Other than being terrified, my main complaint through the process, which moved pretty quickly, was that the hospital portal doesn't post imaging results quickly - but once my MO intervened, the results were posted. Fortunately from the CT scan it appears that I don't have a rare cancer but instead have a incredibly rare, but benign, condition. Or so it seems for now.
I read your vent, and I don't see anything in there that is specific to the Canadian Healthcare system. All of it could happen anywhere. It's awful, but there is so much about the medical system and the diagnostic process and treatment that is awful.
ctmbsikia, congratulations! That's great news!
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Beesie, I had to chuckle after my response to Moth, because we all bring a bias to this conversation. If you've had good or adequate service you are likely to sing the praises of our healthcare. Or if you work in the industry you are more likely to defend it. But I have had some very bad experiences. As I have stated clearly before, I have no beef with the doctors or nurses. But people in offices making decisions that have real life consequences....damn straight I have a beef with that. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know the more bloated an organization is with bureaucracy, the shittier it runs. And Canada is filthy with bureaucracy.
Today the lady watching the door of the lab, giving us the covid schpeel, taking our care cards, was wearing a mask and one of those head mounted face shields. Only the plastic of the shield was cloudy. Like someone put a chemical on it that ruined the plastic. The poor woman couldn't see a damn thing through it! She was struggling to read cards and lab orders. I asked who expected her to do her job with a shield that hampers her vision? She shrugged and showed me the bag it had come in with a Sharpie note saying," you must wear this shield". So some Einstein gives her a useless shield. I told her the bag says she has to wear it but not how, so put it on with the plastic at the back because that shows more intelligence than the dummy who bagged it up in the first place. Then I got worried that the lady with the needles might also have a shield she couldn't see through and I listened for screaming from the lab. Luckily her face shield allowed vision. Close call!
But I still am underwhelmed with the service and think there is vast room for improvement. I'm not asking for big city specialists, but a timely blood test seems reasonable.
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I live in a country suburb like area within 2-hours of 2-large cities and 30mins from a 906 bed hospital in DE. In the last 2-years we decided to try the local hospital for care. After working in health care for years I have seen it change from patient centered to more of a business. That means the bottom line is more important and often some supplies take a hit. This past year I have been to the ED about 5x with my husband at the local 100 bed hospital and have received great, timely, care. Since Covid you now can schedule your lab appointments. In the past, I have never had to wait more than 30 mins. The results are in my portal that evening. I know there are pros and cons, but I do not want the government to run my health care. runor, what happened to you is inexcusable, someone, somewhere dropped the ball.
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Oh my dear friends, I have no words, except to say I'm sorry for all the crap you're dealing with. Some of your stories and your solutions made me chuckle, though. Hope that's OK. Sometimes, I'm so ready to just be "done" with everything.
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runor, I am not defending anything that has happened to you. I am saying your anger is misplaced.
There is no "Canadian Healthcare System". And yes, it drives me nuts when people use the term "Canadian Healhcare System" as a dumping ground for all their complaints about their care. I'm not saying the complaints aren't valid - I currently have some pretty big complaints about one particular aspect of my medical care - but the complaints are misdirected.
Healthcare in Canada is provincial and local. All the rules and regulations and treatment guidelines and reimbursement schedules are set by each province. You are in B.C.? Complain about B.C., don't complain about "Canadian healthcare". And yes, I have some big issues with some of the guidelines in Ontario, and with some of their drug approval decisions. The Feds have nothing to do with it. Even with that, most of the issues any of us face are local. Locally, doctors and facilities decide on staffing, scheduling (eg. 10 minutes per appointment or 30 minutes per appointment), how they treat patients, how many chairs they have in the waiting room, etc..
You keep saying that you have no beef with doctors or nurses. Well, if you have not been treated well, you should have a beef with your doctors and nurses, or at least, with some of them. Because they are the source of many of the issues you've faced. The delays you faced from your gyne's office have nothing to do with any healthcare system. It has to do with how your gyne chooses to run his office. If you didn't get a bladder ultrasound for 6 months, it's because your doctor didn't push for it and insist that you be prioritized. Same with the wait for your D&C. The wait you had for bloodwork? Entirely the fault of the facility you are using. They aren't scheduling properly and they aren't treating patients with respect. Closing for lunch when that's the time that people can come for their tests? Do you seriously think the Feds have any part in that decision? Don't raise a stink about "Canadian healthcare". Raise a stink with whoever owns/runs that testing facility.
As for bureaucracy, Canada has a tiny medical bureaucracy as compared to the U.S.. Doctor's offices in the U.S. have significantly more staff managing administration than doing healthcare. In Canada, the provinces set out treatment guidelines and reimbursement schedules and the doctors have complete freedom to work within those guidelines - no approvals necessary. There is much less administration, and there is no big approval bureaucracy at the provincial governments. Doctors almost always have the option to work outside of the provincial guidelines, sometimes not even requiring approval but for some tests and procedures requiring pre-approval (PET scans in Ontario, for example, when operating outside of the guidelines). Some docs choose to stick to the basic rules and other docs choose to push the boundaries. In Canadian provinces, the "people in offices making decisions" are usually teams of medical experts who develop treatment guidelines (provincial versions of the American NCCN guidelines). Then they are out of the picture. In the U.S., doctors work within guidelines laid out by their medical facilities, plus they need insurance pre-approval for many tests and pretty much every procedure. In the U.S., the "people in offices making decisions" are thousands of pencil pushers in insurance companies who on a daily basis make the decision to approve, or not, someone's test or procedure. Plus of course there are also the individuals at local hospitals and testing centers that decide on staffing and procedures and schedules. It's at that local administration level where there might be a difference in Canada vs. the U.S.. Because the U.S. is a profit driven system, there is more emphasis on having spiffier facilities and quicker turnaround times in order to win over patients, particularly in larger cities where there is competition. That's the one thing you won't find in Canada, and that does mean that our timelines are sometimes longer, particularly for non-urgent situations.
The one thing that appears to be true across all provinces in Canada is that they prioritize care based on need. What this means is that every hospital leaves operating room slots open for emergencies. Every testing facility has the ability to get someone in immediately when the need is urgent. Separate from those situations that require immediate action, operations and tests are usually scheduled based on the seriousness of the concern. When I had my first breast surgery, I know that someone who saw my BS a day or two after me was scheduled for her surgery much sooner than I was - she had a large tumor and it appeared that she had extensive nodal involvement. My diagnosis did not have the same urgency, so it made sense to me that she would be bumped ahead of me in line. I was recently scheduled for a CT scan very quickly, because of a concern that I might have cancer. I'm also awaiting scheduling of an MRI; this is taking longer because it's for normal screening purposes, with no urgency of need. These priority decisions are made by the doctor using the scheduling rules of the facility.
runor, if you are not getting treated in a timely manner, don't yell about the "Canadian Healthcare System". It's your doctors and facilities that are at fault.
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Beesie, normally I agree with most everything you post but not this one.
Yours and others who are telling runor how to feel are very discounting and dismissive. If she can't vent here, in the Steam Room for Anger, without being told how she feels is wrong or she's directing her anger at the wrong topic, then where can she post?
Runor's anger is her own. You may disagree with her but this thread isn't the place for that in my not so humble opinion.
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Thanks, edj3. Those were my thoughts exactly. People aren't coming to this thread to be lectured; we are coming here to VENT, and those feeling are our own whether others agree or not. I can feel runor's frustration and I understand it.
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edj3 and LW422, have you even read my posts?
I am absolutely not telling runor how to feel. I have said numerous times that I understand her anger. I would be as angry as she is if I was in her situation. And even if I didn't agree with her anger, as you say, it is her anger and what I think doesn't count for anything.
What I am doing is talking about the "Canadian Healthcare System" - the target of runor's anger - and explaining why her very valid anger should be directed elsewhere. The "Canadian Healthcare System" is a big bad boogeyman and a great fall guy but it's not responsible for any of what's happened to runor. By definition, the "Canadian Healthcare System" is too big to be changed, at least not by any one patient. But doctors and doctor's offices and facilities? Here there is an opportunity to raise hell and force change. Not that I'm suggesting this or saying that this is something that runor would want to do now, while she's in the middle of a medical crisis. But I am saying that if someone is aiming a bullet, they should be aiming it at the right target. But I would gladly hand runor the rifle (figuratively speaking, of course).
This is the Steam Room for Anger. And like moth and the other Canadians who have commented, I get angry when Canadian healthcare is wrongly maligned. Am I not allowed my vent?0 -
I've been here for years and encountered numerous posts by various people railing against the "Canadian healthcare system" in different threads. It is so tiresome. Am I not allowed to agree with moth and Beesie? Beesie's posts are enlightening as always. Yes, it's good to vent. Perhaps complaining to the right people could lead to change. I'm not from here, so I do have different experiences.
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Here's a completely different vent. I'm furious that when I need to go to my medical appointments during a pandemic I have to deal with anxiety about cancer, covid, and now racism. The surprise, cowardly attacks on people of Asian descent have been so upsetting. I truly want a walking stick so that I have a weapon. How horrible is it that I would find it comforting? I'd like one with a built-in taser. I hate these racist cowards and how they make me feel.
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For those who love the "Canadian Healthcare System" and are from Canada yes, I understand your frustration with this discussion. I can understand runor frustration on how things have been messed up with her care. Does the Canadian system have a command hierarchy or a chain of command she can complain to? Or is it just the "pencil pushers" in the states that do. Let me assure you Beesie, in the states if you need emergency care you can receive it. Every testing facility has the ability to get someone in immediately. "Doctor's offices in the U.S. have significantly more staff managing administration than doing healthcare." That just isn't true.
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SerenitySTAT
I am so, so sorry that you are experiencing this. On a practical note, I suggest carrying a fold-up umbrella. I had one of those with me on a bus several years ago, and when the man in the seat behind me grabbed my hair and tried to pull me over the back of my seat, I started pounding on his arms and head with it until he stopped and got off the bus. When I yelled at the driver for not stopping and doing something (he was watching in his mirror) he said he couldn't have done it better than I did. And always keep your phone handy to start filming if any low-life scum gives you crap.
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Alice - Thank you. I do have many fold-up umbrellas, and my phone is always nearby. I'm glad you were able to fight off your attacker, but the bus driver allowed him to escape. The more they go unpunished, the more they crime.
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runor: I get your anger. I, too, have been dicked around by some health professionals. I hated my first MO. She was horrid and paid zero attention to important issues. I complained by email to PHSA Patient Quality Assurance. I got a phone call back. They brought it before a "board" of some sort. I received emails. Dr X contacted me and tried to make it right by blaming others. Nope. It was SHE who was responsible. I got a follow-up phone call. In the meantime I got a referral from my GP for another MO, at another facility. I adore him. I swear I am doing well because of his attitude. I like Lions Gate Hospital oncology department much more than I like BC Cancer Agency which is supposed to be the so-called Gold Standard of care. Find the right target and YELL
AliceB: many many years ago when I was a young girl in a short skirt I had a bus passenger try to put his hand up my skirt. I was holding one of the cane-type umbrellas and I brought it across the side of his head with a very satisfying crack. The other passengers applauded. Maybe we should have those Victorian walking sticks with the sword inside.
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Beesie--I was not directing my post to you or about you, and certainly you are allowed to vent. But you addressed runor directly several times in your response, so my feeling is that she should be allowed to just vent without having to do further explaining or defending her own experience. I appreciate your helpful posts to everyone on this forum, including me.
Most of us on this forum are already in a heightened state emotionally; we are being treated for an effing disease and we don't want to be here anyway. Personally I am always one harsh word away from total meltdown. It seems we could all step back and just let people vent in a safe place and with some understanding of the pure emotion.
It was not my intention to single out anyone, and I apologize if it seemed so. So vent away!
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I've been asking my family for a sword-cane for years! Instead they give me socks, chocolates, and orchids.
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"Does the Canadian system have a command hierarchy or a chain of command she can complain to?"
No. There is no "Canadian system" to complain to. That's been my point. Healthcare at the patient level is provincial. Execution at the patient level is up to the facility.
The role of the federal government, i.e. the "Canadian healthcare system" is to set principles (the 5 principles I included in my earlier post), to provide partial funding (sent to the provincial governments), manage health protection programs (like the FDA and NIH), and deliver health services to a limited number of very unique and distinct populations.
flashlight, I didn't say that I love the "Canadian Healthcare System". Having lived in the U.S. and having family who've lived in the States, I prefer the healthcare system in Canada. But it is far from perfect and I have my complaints too. I don't in any way disagree with runor's anger; I am only challenging where she is directing it because to my understanding of Canadian healthcare, the issues she's encountered are the fault of those at the local level and have nothing to do with the Canadian system of healthcare. In the U.S., you have The Affordable Care Act, which is national and managed by the Department of Health and Human Services. But execution is at the State level, and Massachusetts has a different healthcare system than Montana. If someone has a complaint about a doctor or lab in Boston, or if someone has not received appropriate emergency care at their local hospital in Billings, should they complain about and to HHS? I wouldn't think so. The complaint should go to the doctor or facility, or at the government level, to the State. It is the same in Canada. So to your point, in Canada every person who needs emergency care should receive it. Every testing facility should have the ability to get someone in immediately. If that isn't happening, it's not the fault of Health Canada (our HHS). The complaint should go to the doctor or facility, or at the government level, to the Provincial health authority.
SerenitySTAT, I like AliceBastable's suggestion. A fold-up umbrella, or a full sized one with a long sharp pointy end, can serve as nice discrete protection. I'm sorry you feel you need it.
Edited to add: flashlight, it's great if your doctor's office isn't heavy with administration personal. My comment was based both on my own experience, from accompanying my parents to their doctor's offices in Florida, and from studies like this:Health care paperwork cost US $812 billion in 2017, 4 times more per capita than Canada https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/pf...
"A study published today (January 6) in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that health care bureaucracy cost Americans $812 billion in 2017. This represented more than one-third (34.2%) of total expenditures for doctor visits, hospitals, long-term care and health insurance. The study estimated that cutting U.S. administrative costs to Canadian levels would have saved more than $600 billion in 2017.Health administration costs were more than fourfold higher per capita in the U.S. than in Canada ($2,479 vs. $551 per person) which implemented a single-payer Medicare for All system in 1962. Americans spent $844 per person on insurers' overhead while Canadians spent $146. Additionally, doctors, hospitals, and other health providers in the U.S. spent far more on administration due to the complexity entailed in billing multiple payers and dealing with the bureaucratic hurdles insurers impose. As a result, hospital administration cost Americans $933 per capita vs. $196 in Canada. The authors note that in Canada hospitals are financed through lump-sum "global budgets" rather than fee-for-service, much as fire departments are funded in the U.S. Physicians' billing costs were also much higher in the U.S., $465 per capita vs. $87 per capita in Canada."
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serenitySTAT you cracked me up!
“I've been asking my family for a sword-cane for years! Instead they give me socks, chocolates, and orchids”
we will have to find you a sword cane with orchards on it!0 -
most of the blood labs in BC are actually private (Lifelabs, a private for profit corp) is contracted out to the health authorities to provide services at a set price. you can still get provincial lab services through outpatient labs *inside* hospitals but many people don't know they exist as Lifelabs has become so ubiquitous. I go to hospital labs and mine all take appointments now.
I HATE my seasonal allergies. I legit can't breathe outside and can barely breathe inside this year. When I walk outside, my nose runs like a tap. I have a telehealth appointment with a lung specialist (cause you know how lungs are best assessed by phone!! Otoh, as a respirologist he's probably a walking covid fomite so I don't want to meet him in person if I can avoid it) for my pneumonitis but I feel like we can't assess my pneumonitis because the allergies are totally obscuring the situation.
I want a pony & acreage for my dog to run. That's just random. But I thought it's something we might do in a few years but nope, not gonna happen.
Also I hate the SUN because it gives me eyestrain and headaches. We have stupidly sunny weather in the forecast for.ever it seems.
Also, I don't want to have terminal cancer.
I think that's my rants for this morning.
SerenitySTAT - that really sucks. I'm sorry that's happening.
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can we pause for a minute and think about pharmaceutical companies? My MO is putting me on Verzenio. With good health insurance I’m looking at a copay of $775 a month (for years). Their savings card theoretically covers the copay...
If they’re willing to cover the copay (up to $25,000 a year!) why are they still charging so damn much???
I get it’s expensive to do the R&D ... but that argument loses something if they’re willing to subsidize it by so much.... they want as much as they can get from the insurance companies!
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I am wearing a clouded face shield as I sit down to type this.
Beesie, you are correct that my choice of term could have been more specific. Perhaps my frustration flinging at the 'Canadian Healthcare system' was too broad. Had I known whom to aim my vitriol at more specifically I would have. But I did not. So it was a generalized flailing of frustration. However, I have received some service (rather NOT received service) that is truly abominable. Concerning our lab, this is not the first time I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for a blood test and watched others, who have been waiting for hours also, walk out in utter frustration. Last year I needed a medication free blood test done in August and they told me to come in October. OCTOBER for a fucking blood test I needed in August! My oncologist was unhappy that the blood work he requested was not done. He did not phone the lab and yell at anyone there. No. He asked me why I didn't go to a different lab. Well, how many labs in how many towns am I supposed to phone to try and find a way to make the grand and glorious, the world renowned, the virtuous and holy Local Medical System fit me in in a timely manner? And then when you DO phone a lab you listen to a 7 minute recording that ends with, "this number does not book appointments, for that you need to go on line at blahblahblah! Elderly people have no idea what to do with this! Nothing about this is set up as a service. The 'system' is untouchable and as such answers to no one.As to the US being more top heavy with management, of course they are. They are 10 times our population! Somewhere there is probably comparative information on how many people Canada employs in the healthcare field on a per capita basis (if I used that term right) but I don't know where to find it. I would like to know what wait times are like compared. My friend's mom just got shoulder surgery after a 5 year wait. Five years. Really?
Perhaps hollering at a doctor might change things, but even that is difficult. Because doctors have receptionists who are trained in Ninja warfare tactics and you can't get a phone appointment to even yell at a doctor until the Thursday after next. In which time you may very well bleed to death or die of septic shock, or go to an emergency room and sit there for 6 - 8 hours. During my bleed I waited 4 1/2 hours to be seen in emergency and I felt that was FAST service for around here. I wanted my oncologist to be aware of this bleeding thing and I wanted him to order a blood test to determine if I actually am post-menopausal and called his office. This was end of March. Receptionist said...well, Dr is very busy and you do have a phone consult booked already as your annual follow up so he'll call you in 20 days." I flipped out. Beesie, I get TIRED of having to flip out and raise my voice and INSIST that I talk to someone. I PAY for healthcare. I should not also have to argue and fight for it. Yet I do. And that is a big, fat effing FAIL for this system, local or otherwise. We hear over and over you have to be your own advocate. Why? Because this system is broken in a thousand places . Gratitude for a system that does not leave us broke DOES NOT MEAN we have to accept medical service that leaves many people vulnerable to falling through the cracks. Medical care might not break us, but often it leaves us broken.
So. If a person has good service and good experiences, good. I'm happy. That is as it should be. But be aware that good services that you happily accept are NOT what everyone gets and it's easy to take the high road when you are on the receiving end of the high road. It will change when you stand in line outside a rural lab for 4 hours with no chair to sit on and then get sent home to come back the next day and start all over. We need to clean this mess up and it starts with someone (not sure who) standing in line with us and saying, this sure sucks, could we not provide some chairs? But that person is...taking a lunch break.
I hope that whatever is going on with you is not serious and I hope you get some answers quickly, because waiting is HELL! And...we're still good, at least as far as I'm concerned. Although I might phone my doctor and yell at him about you.0
