Let's play doctor — Scope | Disability forum
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Let's play doctor

bam
bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
Well, I'm sitting here once again waiting to see a doctor. Seems like all I do is wait to see a doctor. It's funny doctors will make you wait for hours and hours but when they tell you to jump they expect you to jump. If you don't jump when they say jump they get mad. What I think is really funny when they call me into the waiting room and I say hold on a second I just got to disconnect this thing on my phone. They always give me this really mean look like I'm like they think I'm being rude. I think it's rude that they schedule me for an 8:30 a.m. appointment when the doctors don't show up till 9 a.m. and don't start seeing patients until 9:30 a.m. a patient has to sit around for an hour to see a doctor. They schedule you for 8:30am appointment they should see you at 8:30 a.m. not 9:30 a.m.

Comments

  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    Although I find it irritating at times, I think you are wrong and you have to look at the bigger picture here.  Just because a Doctor doesn't show up till after they are scheduled to, doesn't mean they are deliberately late.  You have no idea where they have been before surgery.  They could have been with a patient who's gravely ill at home, or any number of other things might have happened.  Likewise once the GP has arrived at the surgery and nothing 'seems' to happen, ie they call nobody in to see them, doesn't mean they are just sitting there to make people have a long wait. They could be on the phone dealing with someone who has urgent problems, or finding out about a patient. These things happen and crop up all the time, so instead of moaning about it either re-book your appointment if you can't or won't wait, or better still think.... well at least they are doing a their job properly, and that should I or one of my family members need at least I know that my GP will be there to do their best for them.  After all if the GP was dealing with you or a loved one, how would you feel if they suddenly stood up and said, they had to leave because surgery was due to start?  You wouldn't be happy, I bet!
  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
    I don't think you understand I live in America. We pay for our healthcare. So, when they schedule me for an 8:30 a.m. appointment but don't have any intentions of seeing me until after 9:30 a.m. takes away my time to do other things not medically required. So I'm paying them thousands of dollars to sit in a waiting room for hours before the appointment and hours after the appointment. So, I'm spending $5,000 to spend four to six hours sitting in a waiting room. it's like this for every appointment. What, I don't have a life? no doctors in America do house calls. Now on the other hand I have to sit around and wait for them for hours but if I am more than 20 minutes late for the appointment then I get refused service and sent home without my prescriptions. They don't know what's going on in my life. Those doctors are my Ms doctors. They know what sitting around in a waiting room for 4 to 6 hours does to your MS but they don't care. If you complain about a doctor or nurse they act immaturely and just make you wait longer. Everytime I go to the doctors they bill my insurance company $5,000 and my insurance company pays the bill promptly. For $5,000 I expect to be treated better than that. I expect and demand to be treated like a human being with a life-threatening disease. How much money do you pay when you visit the doctors? I am paying for professional healthcare. I expect and demand to receive professional healthcare. If they do not want to give me professional healthcare than they should stop charging me money for professional healthcare. It must be nice having free healthcare
  • Footloose
    Footloose Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    A doctor or GP only needs one of his other patients to require more attention than expected or a patient to appear who's medical condition turns out to be more time-consuming because they need to see the practice nurse and then seen again after this, for their schedules to be well and truely messed up. You may well think that a practitioner has to keep to their defined schedule, but with the unrealistic compressing down of the amount of time imposed on GPs to deal with each patient, I'm somewhat surprised, if not amazed, that you haven't been subjected to much longer than a half-hour delay!
  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
    I also wanted to explain that I'm not talking about going to a doctor's office where maybe two or three doctors are practicing medicine. I'm talking about a major hospital in Los Angeles,California  that serves as a learning hospital for a major medical school in the state of California in the United States. This teaching Hospital has more than several Clinics that specialize in certain diseases. These clinic know months in advance of their patient load for their certain clinics. The reason why the patients have to wait for so long at that clinic is because of the failure of the clinic director. I go to other clinics at that hospital and I don't have that problem at all. If I have an 8:30 appointment at another Clinic those doctors start seeing patients at 8:30. They're not sitting around drinking coffee and talking about their plans for the weekend or what new cars they are going to purchase later that day. they're doing their job. The reason why they can live in nice houses and drive nice cars is because they're making a living off of my healthcare. They want to get paid for professional healthcare then they should give professional healthcare.
  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
    What do you think they do at these specialize Clinics in the United States?  Do you think they diagnose some mysterious ailment you have. What do you think they do try to figure out what flesh eating bacteria you have? They already know what's wrong with you, that's why you're at that clinic. All they do is monitor your condition and prescribe you medication. When I go to my MS Clinic I spend 4 to 6 hours waiting in the waiting room and I spend less than 10 minutes in the examination room with the doctor. I also want to add that in two weeks I have to do 4 Hour MRI and the hospital is charging my insurance company $25,000 or 23,000 euros. It must be nice having free health care. You guys talk like everyone in the world receives free healthcare and everybody should just patiently wait their turn with a smile on their face. They want to charge you for professional healthcare than they should give you professional healthcare!!! They don't thank me for helping to further their education or salaries. I'm certainly not going to thank them for making me wait 4 to 6 hours. At these teaching hospitals these Clinics know their caseload months in advance. These young doctors have to perform a certain number of Clinic hours  to graduate med school. There are no surprises. There are no emergencies they need to tend to. It's not like the emergency room is calling up the MS Clinic and saying we need one of the brand new young doctors who hasn't even graduated from med school yet to come down to the emergency room to diagnose some really mysterious illness or disease this person has. There are very little surprises in clinics in America.
  • chasnbons
    chasnbons Community member Posts: 60 Courageous
    Sorry with this being a UK based site, I presumed you were living in the UK not America. We don't talk like everyone in the world gets free healthcare like in the UK, but unless someone states in their post that they are in a different country how are we to know this? Obviously things are much different over there and I know nothing about how they work, so therefore can't pass comment on it. Have you posted the same posts on an American site similar to this one? (If there is such a thing) I ask as I think they may be much better equipped to help you.  I'd think the majority of people on here are UK based and could only offer sympathy rather than actual advice.  One thing I will say though is our National Health Service, although on occasion it comes in for much criticism, is a wonderful thing and I for one am very glad to have it.
  • Footloose
    Footloose Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    Whoops, sorry Bam, I didn't latch onto you being an American. I must have been writing up my response when you clarified things. Yes, the US healthcare system does seem to have a bit of a reputation for 'Making wads of money from the misery of others'! 
    ObamaCare and I suspect there have over the decades many other similar proposals put forward. However, the selfish and those who benefit financially from the current system, seem to have the louder and more organised voice on this one.  

    The UK system is pretty good, but I think in some respects, France and some of the Scandinavian countries have a reputation for having even 'better' ones. 
  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
    Thank you very much for your apology. I'm sorry for being so defensive about it. I'm just really sensitive about this issue. The US Healthcare System was screwed up way before Obamacare. A lot of low-income families had difficult choices to make before Obamacare. It was either pay their rent and buy groceries for their family  or use that money to pay for health insurance. Before Obamacare a lot of families and individuals in the United States lived without health,dental or life insurance. At least Obamacare has made health and dental insurance more affordable for low-income families and individuals. The United States healthcare system needs a lot of major work. I heard some staggering  news the other day that the United States is the only developed nation without free healthcare.  I don't know how accurate that statement is but when I was in school growing up the state of California had the 10th largest economy in the entire world but a majority of Californians at the time had no health or dental insurance. Thank you again for your apology it really did mean a lot to me. You're a good person with a cool username. Were you thinking of the movie or something else?
  • Footloose
    Footloose Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    Neither, it's because one of my legs has been amputated ... 'Resulting in me walking with a pronounced limp ... pronounced L. I. M. P ...' *

    *  This quote refers to an old 'Play on words' Spike Milligan joke, (He was one of the BBC Radio's famous 'The Goon Show' cast, broadcast back in the 1950s ... The link below will take you to one of their comedy sketches ....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tjHlFPTwVk
  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
    I'm sorry I wasn't trying to be rude or insensitive about asking you about Footloose. Now you tell me why I feel like a jerk. That video was really funny, thank you
  • Footloose
    Footloose Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    It's quite ok, you haven't offended me in any way whatsoever, I have a VERY warped sense of humour and almost as thick-skinned as a Rhino ... 
  • bam
    bam Community member Posts: 326 Pioneering
     the reason why I asked you about the movie Footloose was just because when I was a little little kid there was a huge dance movie with Kevin Bacon and some other people. When I noticed Footloose Kevin Bacon just flew into my brain doing all those little crazy dance moves fighting the crazy town parents who outlawed dancing in their town years before.
  • Footloose
    Footloose Community member Posts: 34 Courageous
    Ah, never saw that, Bam.

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