Hello all
My first diary – and it's mostly about me - well, about a recent experience of mine. Then it's about you.
Care to join me over the fold?
I went to my general practitioner a few weeks ago because of the way I’ve been feeling the past few months – all dragged out, difficulty getting work done, inability to focus, little joy to be found even in the prospect of an impending vacation in a sun spot – actually I was dreading it! I thought the likely culprit in all this was depression. (always great to show up at the doctor’s with a ready-made diagnosis, eh?)
Anyway, aforementioned GP listened actively as always, and then said that we’d best get a round of bloodwork done prior to hopping on the anti-depressant bandwagon. I was a bit disappointed, as I was rather anxious to get going on a treatment, but I knew she was correct of course.
So I went on the dreaded vacation and had a pretty good time (and yes, before going I certainly felt very ungrateful; after all, how many people would dearly love to take my place?)
Back to the doc for the results, and low and behold I have anemia! my haemoglobin is ‘way down, and I have virtually no iron stores. No wonder I feel like I’ve been dragged through a knothole backwards.
Far from upsetting me, this news cheered me greatly – after all, depression is no treat - of course we will have to do a bit of testing to see if there is a discernable cause for the anemia, perhaps including a colonoscopy, but I’m progressing along the medical algorithm, plenty of time to think about that.
The entire point of this is the following: my doctor had nothing to consider other than what was the best evidence-based care for my condition. No expensive special tests because I had good insurance, or no thinking about what might be a lower-cost alternative for me if I had poor coverage or none. I had nothing to worry about other than getting myself to the appointment on time, and doing the fasting required for the blood work.
Had I been one of the unfortunate many of you in the US who are not covered, or crappily covered, I might well have waited a lot longer before visiting the doctor. For the sake of argument, let’s say an actively bleeding stomach ulcer was causing the anemia. So I wait and wait and feel more and more awful, until one day I pass out because I’ve lost a lot of blood. I’m rushed to hospital, where I undergo emergency surgery – a subtotal gastectomy. I receive a number of units of blood, I’m in the ICU for a few days and then start a long recovery period, during which I’m off work and maybe (probably) lose my job, and my crappy coverage. I’m left with huge bills to pay for the "best health care in the world". But my imaginary situation could have been resolved with some very ordinary testing and a Nexxium prescription and I took up a needed hospital bed – costing the system a LOT of money.
I think that health care is a right, especially in the wealthiest nation on earth at this time.
I think that the profit motive must be removed from health care. It is obscene to have some people benefit monetarily from the suffering of others.
I hope that you all get the health care you deserve, especially after waiting for it for such a long time!