3 ms·

Eh, my experience with health care in Sweden last couple of years is that almost no matter what your issue is, they'll ask what meds you are on, take your blood

Eh, my experience with health care in Sweden last couple of years is that almost no matter what your issue is, they'll ask what meds you are on, take your blood pressure, and some token blood samples and send you home. This costs $20. This process obviously does nothing to alleviate any medical issue, so you come back a few weeks later. You pay your $20. New doctor this time, who asks what meds you are on, takes your blood pressure and orders the same tests. Obviously testing the same thing a second time didn't further the investigation. So you go back. You pay your $20. Yet another doctor this time, who asks what meds you are on, takes your blood pressure and orders the same goddamn tests. Rinse and repeat. I've had like five of these contacts the last few years. Starting to look like a heroin junkie from all the blood samples. I've never learned of any test results. Just keep taking the same tests over and over. There is just zero continuity.

colinmorelli 4y ago
This anecdote may be true, but Sweden has significantly more favorable health outcomes across most dimensions compared to the US. Infant mortality, in-hospital mortality, etc. In fact, most developed nations do. But part of what makes it so difficult to have a productive conversation about healthcare is that everyone has experience with the system in every single country, and bad experiences get passed around. So we say X country is doing better, and someone chimes in explaining how that country has its flaws. They all have their flaws. But the US health system is measurably worse than most other developed nations across most axes that we care about. Though there are interesting questions about how much worse per-capita healthcare spend actually is given the comparatively higher R&D investment in the US.
- refurb 4y ago
  Infant mortality rates aren't calculated the same in every country. I have no idea if Sweden does it differently than the US, but Cuba's low infant mortality compared to other Central American countries disappears when you calculate them all the same way. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6681443/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6681443/
  - colinmorelli 4y ago
    Sure, measurement discrepancies do exist. However, the referenced study is focused almost entirely on Cuba. As a comparison point they use data from PERISTAT which is consistent among countries (or at least that's a goal of the program) for which Sweden is a member. The point is that, however, you can pick almost any objective health measure and see a similar result. So either all of the measurements are wrong in favor of other nations, or there's a clear problem here. I think the bigger challenge here is that health in a nation is about much more than just care delivery services. The nations that do better than the US also tend to have significantly greater, and more accessible, social services to the population. Lower income households will have access to higher quality foods, for example. Healthcare services can be rendered even to those who are not actively employed. etc. Effectively, the US will need to decide if it cares about the health and well being of its population. If it does, we have just about one of the worst ways in modern society to accomplish it. Our method is more expensive, less enjoyable, and has worse outcomes.
    - refurb 4y ago
      Where can i find Peristat data for the US?
kwhitefoot 4y ago
> you come back a few weeks later. You pay your $20. New doctor this time, That's odd. Here in Norway I can always see the doctor with whom I am registered. Very occasionally I'll accept seeing a different doctor in the same practice because that can mean getting an appointment sooner. I think you should complain to someone because you are clearly getting substandard care.

colinmorelli 4y ago

This anecdote may be true, but Sweden has significantly more favorable health outcomes across most dimensions compared to the US. Infant mortality, in-hospital mortality, etc. In fact, most developed nations do. But part of what makes it so difficult to have a productive conversation about healthcare is that everyone has experience with the system in every single country, and bad experiences get passed around. So we say X country is doing better, and someone chimes in explaining how that country has its flaws. They all have their flaws. But the US health system is measurably worse than most other developed nations across most axes that we care about. Though there are interesting questions about how much worse per-capita healthcare spend actually is given the comparatively higher R&D investment in the US.

refurb 4y ago
Infant mortality rates aren't calculated the same in every country. I have no idea if Sweden does it differently than the US, but Cuba's low infant mortality compared to other Central American countries disappears when you calculate them all the same way. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6681443/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6681443/
- colinmorelli 4y ago
  Sure, measurement discrepancies do exist. However, the referenced study is focused almost entirely on Cuba. As a comparison point they use data from PERISTAT which is consistent among countries (or at least that's a goal of the program) for which Sweden is a member. The point is that, however, you can pick almost any objective health measure and see a similar result. So either all of the measurements are wrong in favor of other nations, or there's a clear problem here. I think the bigger challenge here is that health in a nation is about much more than just care delivery services. The nations that do better than the US also tend to have significantly greater, and more accessible, social services to the population. Lower income households will have access to higher quality foods, for example. Healthcare services can be rendered even to those who are not actively employed. etc. Effectively, the US will need to decide if it cares about the health and well being of its population. If it does, we have just about one of the worst ways in modern society to accomplish it. Our method is more expensive, less enjoyable, and has worse outcomes.
  - refurb 4y ago
    Where can i find Peristat data for the US?

kwhitefoot 4y ago

> you come back a few weeks later. You pay your $20. New doctor this time, That's odd. Here in Norway I can always see the doctor with whom I am registered. Very occasionally I'll accept seeing a different doctor in the same practice because that can mean getting an appointment sooner. I think you should complain to someone because you are clearly getting substandard care.