mistyjackal842 said:Alright. I suppose we've finally wrapped up this discussion.
We haven't, because a discussion like this can never—and should never—actually end; talking through a problem is both the essence of it and the very first step toward fixing it. But you patients really need to understand that those of us working inside the system are dealing with just as many headaches and frustrations as you are, so please don't take your anger at the system out on us... because being nervous or aggressive on one side just triggers that exact same response from the other...
Just so you know, here are a few "gems" of systemic stupidity, just for the sake of it... I’m still sitting here waiting for pediatric defibrillator electrodes I ordered two months ago; thank God there wasn't a single kid who actually needed them, because I wouldn't have had anything to treat them with... When I asked about certain medications, the answer was basically—we don't have them, you aren't getting them, so stop bothering the ER... and for others, the administration actually had the nerve to ask, "What do you even need that for?" Well, excuse me, but I think I know what I'm doing if I'm asking for them... But nooooo, that's not how it works—if nobody else at your workplace uses it, then you shouldn't need it either. It doesn't matter if it might save someone's life; it's better to just blindly shove things in a bag and drive to the hospital and hope whoever makes it arrives alive...
The bottom line is that our system is sick, and there isn't a doctor in sight to fix it, which is why everyone having issues with the SYSTEM complains about the SYSTEM rather than the doctors—because we aren't the ones who make up the system. Besides, the amount of influence most of us actually have over it (believe it or not) is practically zero. If you have an issue with a specific EMPLOYEE (doesn't matter if they're a doctor, a dentist, a nurse, or a hospital administrator), call them out by name and demand a second opinion—you have every right to do that...
On the flip side, you also have OBLIGATIONS to the system, and that isn't just paying your basic or supplemental insurance—and I mean INSURANCE, not a SUBSCRIPTION. When you buy car insurance, you don't go driving recklessly all over the road, right? So why should such a cash-based approach be accepted when it comes to health? Look out for yourselves, and when you're given advice—listen to it...
And there you have it...
Kate Collins67 said:That is just one more absurdity within the system: "cover the patients," they say, but then they won't let you run basic tests, so instead you're forced to just make an educated guess.
Tell me about it...
I would be absolutely thrilled if I had access to a good lab and X-ray 24/7; honestly, you wouldn't even need a radiologist present if the only thing that expensive is the staff and the equipment...
mistyjackal842 said:So, it seems like the only issues being brought up are those three specific instances you mentioned. And everything else is just... well, it's being framed exactly like those three very real-life examples you're citing. I guess maybe there's a bit of overgeneralizing going on here? Why not mention the other cases where patients weren't just making things up, and they actually weren't at fault? Or is it your view that everyone is just lying? I also noticed some rather inappropriate language being used here—not necessarily directed at the forum members themselves, but still.
Oh, please. If we’re going to start nitpicking over semantics, then as far as I know, there aren't any rules against using colorful language when you're just venting about your own damn self...
And regarding your little examples—I have hundreds of them, but I'm not going to list them because a) it's pointless, b) it's actually illegal to discuss a patient's condition with anyone who isn't immediate family, and c) even if I did, it wouldn't change a single thing.
Just so we're clear, nobody has died on my watch because I failed to run diagnostics, and my hospital admission rate—for the people I send in—is sitting right around 70%. The percentage takes a hit during weekends or holidays because, believe it or not, I don't have an X-ray machine or a lab sitting right next to me, so sending someone to a general hospital for diagnostics during those times messes with my stats. It's like some kind of cosmic joke, but people always seem to have a tendency to trip and sprain their ankles playing sports or getting into various "personal projects" over the weekend...
Look, what you just said is the textbook definition of an entitled mindset—basically, "I have my insurance card, so that means I’ve bought the right to be treated like royalty every single time I walk through the door." They think you doctors and nurses should actually feel honored that they even bothered to show up to see you losers, and they expect a full-body, top-to-bottom inspection to fix every little thing from their squinty eyes downward, while everyone else who might actually be in a life-or-death situation can just go jump in a lake because they don't give a damn about anyone else...
And honestly, because of that exact attitude—which mostly comes from the older crowd or their relatives—combined with the massive staffing shortages we're facing, primary care has basically devolved into nothing more than a glorified prescription factory and a constant, pointless argument over whether it's "normal" for a 70-year-old to have aching joints or wonder why they can't hike all day like they used to. Of course, not every patient is like this, but there are enough of them to completely clog up the system—mostly because they never leave it...
Not to mention how many times I've dealt with someone showing up alone, or being dropped off by a relative, who just flat-out tells me, "I don't have health insurance, I don't have coverage, so you better just take care of me anyway or..."
I'll leave the rest unsaid—feel free to pick whatever threatening method you want to imagine...
And who do you think ends up footing the bill for those people (and there are more of them every day)? Go ahead, take a guess.
Also, please stop lecturing me about how things work in the States or how wonderful and perfect everything is over there; if it were actually so great, they wouldn't be constantly fighting for reform. Just look at Sicko from M. Moore—now THAT is the reality of America...
I feel like you're making a lot of things up here. I mean, you can't just walk into a hospital and decide to stay. There has to be some kind of medical necessity for being admitted. Most people show up on a specific day because they have a scheduled surgery or something. They don't just wander in whenever they feel like it. And even then, patients often end up waiting hours just for a bed to open up. So, honestly, it seems pretty unbelievable that someone could just show up at a hospital and stay simply because they wanted to.
I know quite a few elderly people who were very ill and ended up passing away either at home or in a private assisted living facility that they paid for themselves.
And just because you say someone lives in a mansion, that doesn't mean they haven't been paying into the healthcare system. It's almost as if you think only people living in apartments contribute anything toward medical costs.
It isn't coming from some random list of excuses—it's exactly what was said above, and it's one of the reasons why our healthcare system is such a mess (not the main culprit, but definitely a big part of it). In reality, those "old chronic" patients almost always meet some clinical criteria for hospitalization within a few days of being discharged, because once they get back home, their condition usually spirals. They don't follow the treatment plans, they ignore the doctors' orders, nobody is there to look after them properly, and everything just falls apart...
I could give you endless concrete examples right now, but there's really no point since we'll just end up circling the drain with more empty rhetoric. I'll just say this: everyone who screams so loudly about "system efficiency" and "strict admission protocols" tends to turn into a total nightmare the second you actually try to enforce those rules, threatening lawsuits, getting violent, or calling in the news media to make a scene...
We really need to draw a line between the concept of possibility and actual probability when we're talking about an event...
The mere POSSIBILITY of picking up an infection (like HIV, or Hepatitis A, B, C, or D...) is ALWAYS there, even if you aren't out there sticking needles through your skin...
But on the flip side, the PROBABILITY of actually getting infected is a completely different animal altogether...
So, I guess that piano analogy isn't totally off base, though when people start asking me stuff like this, my usual response is more along the lines of "I hope a freak meteor hits only you" while I'm driving down the highway...
Bottom line is, if you feel like you need to go get tested, you have your own reasons for doing so, and you shouldn't be projecting your own fears about whether you caught something onto everyone else...
Look, there’s no need to spiral out or start panicking over this, but you really ought to go get yourself checked out by a professional, and if your doctor decides you need to see a specialist or head down to a specific clinic for some follow-up tests... then you just need to do exactly what they tell you and get it handled...
Look, it could take a few days for things to settle down, maybe even longer... you can't just jump to conclusions after a single day. I've told you before why there's no need to panic; the knot itself isn't really the main issue here, at least not given how this whole situation is laid out...
Of course, if it turns out later on that the root cause is something else entirely (like a tooth problem, for instance), then obviously you'll have to go deal with that...
If you’re dealing with flat feet, there’s a pretty good chance you're also looking at some serious misalignment in your leg axis. Basically, the shin bone ends up sitting in a weird angle relative to the rest of the leg, which puts massive, unnecessary stress on your lateral meniscus and the surrounding bone structure. On top of that, you've got the medial ligament connections between the femur and the tibia taking a beating they weren't designed for... and honestly, if that's what you're dealing with, you could chug magnesium supplements until you turn into a chrome rim for all the good it'll do you...
mistyjackal842 said:Isn't it just obvious that the healthcare system in Canada is better than ours? This guy wasn't even born in Canada. He spent a huge chunk of his life living here in the States and was covered by insurance, so... I guess he actually has some ground to stand on when making that comparison. Around here, it feels like hospital equipment is constantly breaking down. And even if you have supplemental insurance that you pay for out of your own pocket, if a machine is busted and they have no clue when it’ll be fixed, you’re stuck paying for a private scan yourself. I know about how Medicare handles cost reimbursements, but from what I've heard, even at places like Medikol, if you try to go in with a referral for an MRI, you could be waiting months—even if you're paying for that extra coverage. But, if you just pay for the full exam upfront without a referral, you can sometimes get it done within the same week. I haven't had to deal with that personally, but I've heard it from people who've booked appointments at Medikol. I suspect the same probably goes for other private clinics that take Medicare.
And how exactly does that tie into providing post-accident services?
Look, I can't really give you any solid medical advice without seeing the situation for myself, but if your doctor thinks you don't need antibiotics, then they probably don't... though, if you start dealing with intense ear pain, redness or swelling around the ear, a high fever, or any kind of discharge, then yeah, you're definitely going to need an antibiotic prescription...
As far as the boil itself goes, there isn't much you can actually do besides just sitting tight and waiting for it to clear up on its own...
brightmaker10 said:I have to drop off a urine sample tomorrow, but my period just started today... everywhere I look online, it says you shouldn't provide a sample during your cycle... but nobody actually explains why... if it's just about blood contamination, couldn't I just use a tampon to prevent that, or is there some other way the urine itself changes during menstruation?
Look, it’s all about contamination—you've got blood mixed in along with vaginal flora—so basically, any test results you get from a sample taken during a period are unreliable and pretty much useless... if I suspect an infection, what I usually do is tell the patient that I'm going to treat them based on clinical judgment and prescribe the appropriate antibiotics for cystitis right away, then we just run the follow-up lab work once the period is over...
If you absolutely need those specific lab results for some reason, you can technically get a clean sample, but let me tell you, it is definitely not a pleasant experience...
Joseph Morris5 said:Alright, they aren't actually open wounds, I misspoke there—they're more like red blotches on the skin. It might not even be related, since this just popped up recently, so it could be a rash or some kind of reaction to anything at all, honestly, I don't think that part matters that much...
It’s not "not important"...
If she's dealing with bulimia, she's a danger to herself and needs treatment—whether she wants to admit it or not... If she's contagious, she's a danger to everyone else and needs treatment—whether she likes it or not...
The only time it doesn't matter is if it's some chronic condition she's already aware of, because at the end of the day, everyone has the right to make their own choices as long as we assume they're "of sound mind" and aren't posing a threat to the public...
Now, "spots" and actual open wounds are two very different things, but even with someone struggling with bulimia, you can get vitamin and mineral deficiencies—though maybe not as bad as with pure anorexia—and those spots could be a result of that, or maybe they're just bruises or an allergic reaction to some supplements since she's training in combat sports...
Bottom line is, without a qualified professional actually looking at this, there isn't going to be any real answer...
Look, you really need to just head down to the doctor, lay out the whole situation, and beg them for an injection or maybe some kind of inhaler treatment... anything to just get a temporary handle on this so you can stop straining your vocal cords and give them a fighting chance to recover...
@Paul Hernandez8/">@@Paul Hernandez8 Maybe you should just go out and ride a bike for a while until those calf muscles actually get some decent strength behind them...
Look, emergency rooms handle anyone whose life is on the line or if they're considered a public interest case, regardless of whether they have insurance or if we even know their status... but honestly, you should try talking to her first. Maybe she’s dealing with some chronic issue she’s just not ready to open up about, but you really need to make it clear that if she has coverage in Canada and can get the right paperwork from the Social Security Administration, she shouldn't run into any walls getting care here in the States. The only thing is, when it comes to checkups, testing, or getting admitted to a hospital, she’ll just have to fill out one specific form—kind of like a standard contract—sign it, and that's basically it...
Anyway, unless she already knows exactly what she's dealing with regarding this chronic condition and just refuses to talk about it—I’d strongly suggest getting some diagnostics done. It doesn't necessarily have to be something critical, but it could be, and frankly, that's just not a situation I find comforting at all...
Look, what you're describing could actually be a symptom of some pretty nasty stuff—internal issues or even infectious diseases that fall under state oversight and mandatory treatment protocols. So, next time she’s feeling under the weather, maybe your girl should just call 911 and tell them her roommate has been coughing, vomiting, and breaking out in skin lesions, and that she's worried it might be something contagious... then mention how this person is being totally uncooperative about getting checked out, so they'll probably have to come out and take a look, and I bet they'll insist on running tests whether she likes it or not...
By the way, there isn't some complicated, messed-up protocol to deal with here; you just take your insurance from Canada over to the local Medicare office and they'll issue you a document with our social security number on it. As far as I know, we have a reciprocal agreement with Canada that gives us full coverage...