3 ms·

The most frustrating thing to me is that you, the patient, had to ask the doctor who is supposed to help you coordinate your care about one of the most importan

The most frustrating thing to me is that you, the patient, had to ask the doctor who is supposed to help you coordinate your care about one of the most important pieces of the puzzle that was still pending after your procedure. All of the view alerts, the notifications, reminders, people involved in your care, fancy computer systems, read backs, none of that prevented the potential delay in your treatment. It could have been months before someone noticed and said "hey, we should probably get you into treatment."

aledalgrande 6y ago
Yeah this doesn't give me a lot of confidence in doctors in US. I had friends in ER and the doctor was "trying" different medicines to see what worked. Then wanted to charge $2K for a signature. I don't really know what the people droning about US healthcare being the best in the world are about.
- Daho0n 6y ago
  The US is huge so finding something somewhere that is best or top of class is quite easy. That the best treatment might be on the other coast than you and only for the 1% that can both afford it and who happen to know about that specific treatment doesn't seem to count when looking at "Best in the world".
  - aledalgrande 6y ago
    This was in LA with an insurance from top company at director level, so I am still not convinced.
01100011 6y ago
Once you have dealt with a major illness, you realize there is very little 'care' in health care. I sympathize with health care workers(mom is an RN, wife is in school now), but it is an unfortunate situation. In my experience, outcomes are determined by how much you are willing to manage your own care and, importantly, fight when necessary.
- Balgair 6y ago
  Aside: Two tips we've found in dealing with the US system: 1) Write down everything that happens. Who came in when, what they gave you, how much, what you talked about and when, etc. Our personal experience is that the MDs and nurses take much better care of you when they see that you are taking notes. Not only from a fear of lawsuits aspect (though if that is there, get a new practitioner quickly), but also from a respect angle. That and they do make mistakes, sometimes big ones, and having another record is invaluable when it comes to when a dosage was given. The taking of notes also tends to slow things down, which can be good when trying to understand complex issues or figure things out. 2) If you're in for a while, get a bowl and keep it filled with diverse candies. Practitioners stop by more often, tend to hang around longer, and are generally in a better mood. All of which leads to better outcomes, at least that I have personally seen. Though this is pre-covid advice. And yes, I very much agree, you have to fight hard to get the care you need. Be polite, of course, but do not back down with MDs, they tend to think of it as a weakness to exploit for some strange reason.

aledalgrande 6y ago

Yeah this doesn't give me a lot of confidence in doctors in US. I had friends in ER and the doctor was "trying" different medicines to see what worked. Then wanted to charge $2K for a signature. I don't really know what the people droning about US healthcare being the best in the world are about.

Daho0n 6y ago
The US is huge so finding something somewhere that is best or top of class is quite easy. That the best treatment might be on the other coast than you and only for the 1% that can both afford it and who happen to know about that specific treatment doesn't seem to count when looking at "Best in the world".
- aledalgrande 6y ago
  This was in LA with an insurance from top company at director level, so I am still not convinced.

01100011 6y ago

Once you have dealt with a major illness, you realize there is very little 'care' in health care. I sympathize with health care workers(mom is an RN, wife is in school now), but it is an unfortunate situation. In my experience, outcomes are determined by how much you are willing to manage your own care and, importantly, fight when necessary.

Balgair 6y ago
Aside: Two tips we've found in dealing with the US system: 1) Write down everything that happens. Who came in when, what they gave you, how much, what you talked about and when, etc. Our personal experience is that the MDs and nurses take much better care of you when they see that you are taking notes. Not only from a fear of lawsuits aspect (though if that is there, get a new practitioner quickly), but also from a respect angle. That and they do make mistakes, sometimes big ones, and having another record is invaluable when it comes to when a dosage was given. The taking of notes also tends to slow things down, which can be good when trying to understand complex issues or figure things out. 2) If you're in for a while, get a bowl and keep it filled with diverse candies. Practitioners stop by more often, tend to hang around longer, and are generally in a better mood. All of which leads to better outcomes, at least that I have personally seen. Though this is pre-covid advice. And yes, I very much agree, you have to fight hard to get the care you need. Be polite, of course, but do not back down with MDs, they tend to think of it as a weakness to exploit for some strange reason.