Comparing the US and German healthcare systems: any thoughts?

It’s my first time hearing that a home health nurse actually handles bathing or washing a patient. In my experience, they usually just check blood pressure and glucose levels, maybe dress a wound, and then sit down for a cup of coffee to chat with the patient—which, honestly, means the world to those seniors.

Back in 2001, I had an appendectomy in Hamburg. The medical staff there was just so much kinder than what we see here in the States. They actually found a carcinoid tumor in my appendix. They suggested about twenty different tests to make sure nothing had metastasized... But when I went to get a gastroscopy done in Savannah, the doctor practically kicked me out of the office, saying, "You're healthy; do you really think I'm going to go poking around in your appendix?" I didn't follow up with any other tests after that, but hey, here I am twenty years later, still alive—I guess I just got lucky.
But based on what I saw back then, our healthcare system is lagging far behind the German one.

rustymason82 said:I guess I’m hearing for the very first time that a home health nurse actually handles bathing or washing a patient. In my experience, I thought their role was mostly limited to checking blood pressure, monitoring glucose levels, or perhaps tending to a wound now and then—and maybe sitting down for a quick cup of coffee to chat with the patient. I suppose that bit of companionship probably means the world to those elderly folks, though.

Back in 2001, I had an appendectomy while I was visiting Hamburg, and I have to say, the medical staff there were just so incredibly kind and attentive compared to what I experienced back home in the States. During the procedure, they actually discovered a carcinoid tumor in my appendix. They suggested about twenty different follow-up tests just to be absolutely certain that nothing had metastasized, which seemed like a very thorough approach. Later on, I went to a clinic in Savannah for a gastroscopy, but the doctor there basically kicked me out of his office, telling me quite bluntly that I was perfectly healthy and asking if I really thought they’d bother looking into my appendix. I didn't end up doing any of the other recommended tests after that encounter, but I suppose I was just lucky, because even after twenty years, I am still here.
Based on what I saw back then, I guess our healthcare system might be trailing quite a bit behind the standards we see in Germany.

Well, I suppose you’ve actually articulated exactly what I was trying to hint at. When you're young, being productive is one thing, but I guess eventually all that massive industrial machinery and the sheer capital held by Germany will really start to show its strength.

I suppose when you reach a certain age, people start running the numbers. It feels like they begin calculating everything, which is a bit disheartening, I guess. They start wondering why they should bother investing any resources into someone who might not be around much longer.

Ryan Perez said:Essentially, you just articulated exactly what I was subtly hinting at. When you're young and productive, all that massive machinery and wealth held by Germany really starts to show its strength.

When you're older, they start calculating. Why waste resources on someone who's nearing the end?

Since my employer in Hamburg didn't officially register me—which I wasn't even aware of—they ended up checking me into the hospital as a relative, basically treating me like a tourist. In a way, they were wasting resources on someone who was just passing through.

On the other hand, my mother recently suffered a stroke, and I can tell you firsthand—it all comes down to which doctor you get or which nurse is on duty. There is simply no consistency in our healthcare system.
If I hadn't been there these past few weeks tending to her wound, which struggles to heal because of her diabetes, I don't know what would have happened... the nurse in the clinic just doesn't have the time to give it proper attention; she just patches it up quickly and moves on.

There was an elderly man with dementia in my room in Hamburg who spent the entire night ringing the call button and getting out of bed. You wouldn't believe the effort the nurse put in, returning him to bed every single time without ever raising her voice once. Back home, she probably would have lost her temper, likely restrained him, or just given him something to knock him out for twenty-four hours.

rustymason82 said:Since my employer in Hamburg didn't actually register me—which I wasn't even aware of at the time—it seems they just listed me at the hospital as a relative visiting on a tourist visa. I suppose that means they were essentially wasting resources on someone who was just passing through.

Whether you were just passing through or not, somebody had to foot the bill for that care. And we're talking about cold, hard cash here, which is quite different from navigating the usual healthcare system bureaucracy. I'm fairly certain those medical services aren't cheap; I know someone who paid $220 just for a quick checkup and an antibiotic prescription.

I don't really see what's wrong with receiving decent service if you're paying for it directly out of your own pocket, right?

For some reason, I get the impression you might be twisting my words to make it sound like I'm claiming the American healthcare system is terrible and ours is perfect. I think that's a bit of a simplification, perhaps coming from a mindset used to seeing things in strictly black and white terms.

My actual point is more along the lines of saying that the American healthcare system should strive to be good despite any budget constraints or difficulties, and that it could potentially be more compassionate than the highly industrialized, calculated systems you see in places like Germany.

So, I'd appreciate it if you didn't attribute views to me that I haven't actually expressed.

Furthermore, I guess it's worth considering what kind of scandal would erupt here if our doctors decided to stop treating cancer patients simply because of their age.

Ryan Perez said:Furthermore, just imagine the scandal that would erupt here if doctors decided to stop treating cancer patients simply because of their age.

What am I supposed to reflect on? An internist at the hospital in Savannah told me I was perfectly healthy—that they wouldn't even bother looking at my appendix—and refused to follow up on the fifteen tests recommended in my discharge papers from the clinic in Hamburg.
So, to clarify: they removed an appendix containing a tumor in Hamburg, yet back in Savannah, the internist refused to run the scans needed to rule out metastasis. It happened nineteen years ago, and I was lucky enough that it wasn't the case.

So, look, your internist over in Savannah really knocked it out of the park, honestly, because they actually figured out that the tumor hadn't spread and you could skip the whole mess of having surgery on your appendix.

Larry Scott43 said:So, your internist in Savannah was actually quite skilled if he decided the tumor hadn't metastasized and ruled out surgery for the appendix.

That's not quite right.😁
The appendix was already removed back in Hamburg
And as for his claim that the intestinal tumor hadn't spread? He reached that conclusion by reading tea leaves—or coffee grounds, or some other nonsense—rather than through actual medical testing.
That doctor was known for giving top-tier care to people with high-end insurance, whereas I was just a broke eighteen-year-old kid he didn't feel was worth his time.