Since I seem to be ranting about stuff I may as well talk about healthcare. Now I work for a major healthcare corp. in Pittsburgh and I can tell you from inside experience that it truely is a dog and pony show. Also, from three years of suffering from chronic migraines, vertigo, and a possible siezure I can assure you that it truly is a miserable system.
In the old days, you called your family doctor, you got an appointment usually that day if not that week for sure. They spent a decent amount of time with you and you were greated by a friendly nurse and a receptionist. The doctor used his brain to figure out what might be wrong and ordered some tests if he couldn't and then treated you.
Now, you call your "PCP" and get the usual press one two three four crap and end up with "central scheduling" who tells you, sorry sir there is a two month wait to see the doctor, we dont care if you are half dead on the floor. If you need to see a doctor go to your local ER (aka the clinic where everyone goes who cant get an appointment for things ranging from paper cuts to heart attacks. You will wait for HOURS at the ER and then get an ER doctor who does the minimal amount of tests to determine if you are stable enough to be sent home only to start the waiting process for your PCP all over again. In other words, you waste about 8 hours of your time and get no answers, pay 50 bucks and then several hundred for useless tests. When you finally do get to see your doctor they spend about five minutes with you and shove you off to a specialist who in turn writes you a script for some drug that may or may not work for you and may have serious side effects. You are then told to come back in a month or two and at that time they go "gee, the drug didnt work? Here try this drug and come back in a few months.
The whole process is ridiculous. All that doctors seem to want to do these days, other than suck your wallet dry, is hand out drugs. Drugs that sometimes are not safe. Turn on the television and watch for ads like "if you took drug XYZ and your penis fell off or you have tradive disconesia or your child was born with six heads, call us! We can sue the ass of the drug company and make you rich." Its scary stuff. Healthcare is not healthcare anymore, its corporate greed care. Not to mention the fact that the doctor makes about ten to twelve times more per year than the nurse who is doing about 90%f the work and who probably hasn't had a bathroom break in about eight hours, and no lunch or dinner and who will be asked if she or he wouldn't mind working yet another day of overtime to cover because they are understaffed.
In the old days, you called your family doctor, you got an appointment usually that day if not that week for sure. They spent a decent amount of time with you and you were greated by a friendly nurse and a receptionist. The doctor used his brain to figure out what might be wrong and ordered some tests if he couldn't and then treated you.
Now, you call your "PCP" and get the usual press one two three four crap and end up with "central scheduling" who tells you, sorry sir there is a two month wait to see the doctor, we dont care if you are half dead on the floor. If you need to see a doctor go to your local ER (aka the clinic where everyone goes who cant get an appointment for things ranging from paper cuts to heart attacks. You will wait for HOURS at the ER and then get an ER doctor who does the minimal amount of tests to determine if you are stable enough to be sent home only to start the waiting process for your PCP all over again. In other words, you waste about 8 hours of your time and get no answers, pay 50 bucks and then several hundred for useless tests. When you finally do get to see your doctor they spend about five minutes with you and shove you off to a specialist who in turn writes you a script for some drug that may or may not work for you and may have serious side effects. You are then told to come back in a month or two and at that time they go "gee, the drug didnt work? Here try this drug and come back in a few months.
The whole process is ridiculous. All that doctors seem to want to do these days, other than suck your wallet dry, is hand out drugs. Drugs that sometimes are not safe. Turn on the television and watch for ads like "if you took drug XYZ and your penis fell off or you have tradive disconesia or your child was born with six heads, call us! We can sue the ass of the drug company and make you rich." Its scary stuff. Healthcare is not healthcare anymore, its corporate greed care. Not to mention the fact that the doctor makes about ten to twelve times more per year than the nurse who is doing about 90%f the work and who probably hasn't had a bathroom break in about eight hours, and no lunch or dinner and who will be asked if she or he wouldn't mind working yet another day of overtime to cover because they are understaffed.
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