posted on September 21, 2004 08:22:39 PM new
i was just wondering how do people go about finding a good doctor with good customer service ??
You read the yellow pages,nothing said about where he goes to school,how long has been in business,how competent is he and how compassionate is the man/woman??
and you dont even see a fee schedule in his office.
2 years ago,i went to see a cardiologist and he told me i am the last person to have a heart problem(he wont mention acid reflux).
I was so thrilled i dont have a heart problem i decide to spend the money on tests to make it once and for all -i am not a heart patient.
His girl in front desk sent me to a lab across the street when there are plenty of labs in that building.I asked her why and she refused to say why,just want to send me across the street.
Any way,i insisted the one in the building and she reluctantly agreed,
When i went to the lab,snicker,snicker,the lab assistant just snickered
DO they take kickbacks??
No wonder people sue their doctors,how else do you get back at him,there is no place you can check up on his skills,there is no place you can complain about him??
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on September 22, 2004 05:53:57 AM new
Don't say that too loud, the conversatives in the room might hear you. Don't you realize that people shouldn't even think about suing doctors? All that does is feed the scum-sucking lawyers Can't have that
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
posted on September 22, 2004 06:21:20 AM newAll that does is....
Nope, not quite all it does. We ALL end up paying for these lawsuits one way or the other. Either through higher costs to visit the doctors, higher insurance premiums or doctors giving up their practices, causing a shortage as we have seen in the OBGYN practices.
posted on September 22, 2004 06:24:56 AM new
stopwhining - There is a site on the internet which lists all the doctors and gives considerable information about them. Can't look for it right now...but either emailing the AMA or call a local branch might point you in the right direction to see what lawsuits have been filed against different doctors. I know for a fact this information is available as I used it myself five years ago to check out the docs we were establishing a relationship with when we first moved here. One wasn't on that list and I investigated him further. Turned out he was a-okay too.
So it's out there....just have to find it.
edited to add - there are several similar sites that come up on a quick google search. This is one of them...not the one I used...but looks like it might have what you're looking for.
posted on September 22, 2004 07:24:31 AM new
Thanks,Linda,i will google the sites later in the day.
What i mean is a feedback file of not lawsuits but what other patients have to say.
But then patients can be biased and get personal with their comments.
I recall sitting at my cardiologist waiting room and there is this long time patient of his with heart murmur and for years they cant find out what is the cause.
She said that Dr lacks bedside manners as most of us lack the medical training to articulate well and the DR just pooh pooh what she has to say.
I have a bone with doctors - i dont expect doc to memorise the fee schedule-his own or the lab or the radiologist,but while i was undergoing test,we agreed i will undergo another test.
Now is it appropriate to stop the procedure and ask the doc how much extra tests would cost,the only other person in the room is the nurse and she has no idea how much it would cost.
With more and more of us with either no insurance or large deductibles,it makes sense to know ahead of time how much.
I walked into the appt expecting around 360 (doc and lab test) and now the total is 491.
And more will come as i am scheduled for more tests and more consultation.
Altogether it would come to 1k out of my own pocket as i have a high deductible,so it would be nice to know ahead how much.
The doc office just gave me a signed credit card slip as receipt,no invoce which breakdown the total.
Lab is no better roses,i got the bill and it is just one number.
I think they are still thinking they are dealing with insurance companies,but more and more of us are paying out of our own pocket.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on September 22, 2004 08:01:51 AM new
Stop - when you recieve a non itemized bill, the easiest way to find out what exactly it is you are payig for is to simply tell them that you will not be making payment untl you see an itemized list of charges involved.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on September 22, 2004 08:02:38 AM new "I think they are still thinking they are dealing with insurance companies,but more and more of us are paying out of our own pocket.'
You hit the nail on the head with that comment. That's one reason that the Canadian system is a good alternative. If your condition is not life threatening there you may have a short wait to schedule those tests but at least the tests would be affordable both to you and to those millions without any insurance in this country.
posted on September 22, 2004 08:32:15 AM new
I agree that all you need to do is ask for an itemized copy and they will give it to you.
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there are websites where patients give their 'feedback' on their doctors. Just use....evaluate doctors...rate doctors...and you'll find the sites.
---------
helen - You keep pushing Canada's health care system as a positive, successful example. It's not. It's failing and it's been failing for years. It's STILL in crisis and costing the taxpayers more and more.
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"As the politicians bicker, Canadians spend more time waiting in line. A study by the right-wing Fraser Institute this month said that *average waiting time for treatment in 2003 rose to 17.7 weeks from 16.5 weeks in 2002*.
"This *grim portrait* is the legacy of a medical system offering low expectations cloaked in lofty rhetoric," the study said, criticizing the fact that governments and not doctors are responsible for allocating resources.
Some delays are much longer. Patients in Ontario who require major knee surgery can *wait six months to see a specialist and then another 18 months for surgery*.
"When I started work 30 years ago it took three weeks to get a patient into a specialist's office. Now *it can take six months*. *There is a lot of inhumanity built into the system*," one unhappy family doctor told Reuters.
Statistics Canada said in June that some 3.6 million Canadians, or 15 percent of the population, did not have a regular doctor last year. This means hospital emergency rooms are flooded by people with routine problems.
Experts say *the shortage of doctors will only get worse* as an increasingly elderly physician population starts to retire over the next decade. And as medical expertise becomes ever more sophisticated, so will the demand and the expense.
posted on September 22, 2004 08:52:33 AM new
We dont have to ask for a beakdown of tasks and related cost,they should know better to give us a copy??
D o you think your car dealer can get away with a lump sum of 23.457.78 on your car invoice.
How about your Ferrari dealer invoice to you-$117.893.45,thank you for your business!!
Or is it because their system is so geared towards dealing with the insurance co. that only the insurance companies get the breakdown of costs??
I know there are many of us who never ask how much any procedure cost,how much medication cost as long as insurance co is picking up the tab,thus encouraging a certain degree of abuse by the providers.
If we all ask questions such as how much,why am i taking this or that test and can i see the breakdown of what you are charging me and worst,why am i being sent to this lab and not that lab,we will all be helping to lower the medical cost in this country??
It is like a catch 22 situation,we sue and doc takes out malpractice insurance and the jury rewards big bucks and the premium for malpractice goes up and like someone said,we all pay for it.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on September 22, 2004 09:08:53 AM new
Any system with assured medical care for everyone is better than the system available in the U.S. today. Forty five million people now are without health insurance...almost 16 percent of the population. That is unacceptable!
posted on September 22, 2004 09:12:10 AM newand worst,why am i being sent to this lab and not that lab,we will all be helping to lower the medical cost in this country??
Some doctors own or are in partnership with certain labs...while others believe there are labs which do a better job than others...they 'trust' some more.
Many doctors are in partnership with several others...all in one building and have their own labs inside. Then they don't need to send the samples out to be diagnosed...as a group they can afford the lab equipment of their own. It's very expensive...as are all the other diagnostic pieces of equipment that are needed for evaluating a patients problem. [MRI machine - cat scan machines - on and on]
If we want the best, most up-to-date diagnostic equipment, doctors with the ability to see us right away when we say 'find a lump' or have chest [or any other pain]...then we're going to have to pay for it.
But putting caps on malpractice lawsuits would mostly likely show the largest cost savings in the areas I mentioned. As would providing employers with tax incentives to offer health care to more people.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:12:23 AM new
Glad to see you back home Etex! Yes, I have Canadian friends and lately I hear them complain of long waits for treatment.
Their doctors are paid well, but apparently not as well as here in the US.
On the other hand I know of a couple here in Louisiana who could not afford fertility treatment here and went to Canada for the treatment.. they have a beautiful baby girl, and can't say enough good about Canada's medical program.
So it's six of one and half a dozen of the other.. I like the convenience of seeing a doctor when I need to.. but I hate having to pay the first 2000.00 every year out of pocket and the 460.00 monthly payments.. so, I only go to my doctor when it is absolutely necessary.. which isn't a good thing, because I tend to put off routine tests, and preventative check-ups etc...
And it is a long way off before I reach 65 for medicare..
I wish health care was more affordable.. Maggie PS.. I'm burned out on the politics too..
posted on September 22, 2004 09:26:15 AM new
"By all measures, Canadians' health is better," says Dr. Barbara Starfield, a university distinguished professor at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Canadians "do better on a whole variety of health outcomes," she says, including life expectancy at various ages.
According to a World Health Organization report published in 2003, life expectancy at birth in Canada is 79.8 years, versus 77.3 in the U.S. (Japan's is 81.9.)
"There isn't a single measure in which the U.S. excels in the health arena," says Dr. Stephen Bezruchka, a senior lecturer in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington in Seattle. "We spend half of the world's healthcare bill and we are less healthy than all the other rich countries."
posted on September 22, 2004 09:30:57 AM newAny system with assured medical care for everyone is better than the system available in the U.S. today.
I would not like a plan where everyone is made to suffer and endure long, sometimes life threatening waits to get treatment. Where the government decides how many doctors will get to go to medical school. And where IF one could afford private care they are not allowed, by Canadian law to purchase it. That's government as BIG BROTHER.
Forty five million people now are without health insurance...almost 16 percent of the population.
I always think this is so very misleading. As that number ONLY represents how many don't have insurance at any given time. Many are on the un-insured list for short periods of times....like they find another job with provides insurance or they buy one of the high deductive policies. Or they're waiting to get on government assistance...or they're LIKE YOU. People who could easily afford to pay for medical insurance but choose not to.
That is unacceptable!
Helen
President Bush has his plan too that doesn't start the slippery slide into National Health Care like kerry's plan does. That would give more incentives to employers to offer medical insurance. That would help pay for some peoples premiums...etc...etc.
What's "unacceptable" is tricking American's into believing Canada's system would work better than ours - it wouldn't. When even their own doctors are saying how bad it's getting and how this obviously affects their patients health/lives.
So no...I don't want to buy into a system that makes very poor quality health care available to all. ALL that need health care get it. We're talking about health insurance.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:35:00 AM new
Each evening last week a reporter compared health care systems in Switzerland, Germany, France, the UK, and the Netherlands, etc with Canada’s system as they travelled throughout Europe. They compared quality of care, speediness of care and the costs. Canada’s health care system is based on the British and is not the best. The other countries combine a private and public health care system so there is a choice and everyone seems to get top-quality care. Canada has much to learn yet and as I recently said here, they are quite aware of the faults and are trying to remedy the situation. This cannot be fixed overnight and most people realize that.
As for doctors leaving Canada, money is the primary reason. There is a constant migration of doctors worldwide and sometimes I think it’s a good thing. For example, we have many doctors who have arrived from South Africa and some have different views on healing, not as anxious to solve all problems with pills like some other physicians.
Linda_K, since you have become the supreme authority on Canada's health care system I would like you to tell us about your last experience with it while you were in Canada and how it has affected you.
Some of us live in Canada and have friends and relatives that have lived here all their lives and don't experience very many problems with the system. IOW, things aren’t the best but it’s not nearly as bad as some of the media portrays. Many Americans travel across the border for their health needs and they trust Canada's system.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:35:00 AM new
In my opinion Health Care in this country sucks,is any President going to fix it NO! No Kerry and Not Bush.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:37:27 AM new
Thanks, maggie. I worked in the medical field here before retiring two years ago.
I have talked to some of the Canadian doctors here. One in particular is a great guy. Yes, he will tell you the money is better, but he also didn't feel that Canadian patients were getting the proper attention.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:37:30 AM new
Another thing to keep in mind is that Canada's health care system is in crisis and they only have approx. 31 million people living there. I've read reports that total cost for their system is up to 50% of the taxes they have to pay. For what? Poor health care. I don't think so.
We have approx 300 million citizens....and another huge entitlement program we don't need. The one's we have now are inefficient enough. Let's not add to another Federal program like kerry suggests that estimates have said will cost close to $100 million dollars a year. And that's only for 1/2 of the currently uninsured. Not all citizens.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:44:06 AM new
lida(notice lower case) says,
""Any system with assured medical care for everyone is better than the system available in the U.S. today.
I would not like a plan where everyone is made to suffer and endure long, sometimes life threatening waits to get treatment.""
linda, this happens in the US, too.
""Where the government decides how many doctors will get to go to medical school.""
I think this is a marvelous idea....keeps out the creeps who just want money or want to "practice their love with women".
""Forty five million people now are without health insurance...almost 16 percent of the population.
I always think this is so very misleading. As that number ONLY represents how many don't have insurance at any given time. Many are on the un-insured list for short periods of times....like they find another job with provides insurance or they buy one of the high deductive policies. Or they're waiting to get on government assistance...or they're LIKE YOU. People who could easily afford to pay for medical insurance but choose not to. ""
No, linda lowercase, it is NOT misleading, it is the truth and a disgrace that it is happening in the "greatest country in the world". Your backward opinion cannot change that.
Only the upper 2% of the wealthiest Americans can afford health care premiums and bush helped them out with a big tax cut that we are paying for.
""President Bush has his plan too that doesn't start the slippery slide into National Health Care like kerry's plan does. That would give more incentives to employers to offer medical insurance. That would help pay for some peoples premiums...etc...etc.
What's "unacceptable" is tricking American's into believing Canada's system would work better than ours - it wouldn't. When even their own doctors are saying how bad it's getting and how this obviously affects their patients health/lives. ""
None of the above is true except OUR doctor's are saying the same thing!
""So no...I don't want to buy into a system that makes very poor quality health care available to all. ALL that need health care get it. We're talking about health insurance.""
Again, linda proves how little she cares for anyone but herself....she can afford health care(oooohhh, that life insurance) so why can't everyone??????/
posted on September 22, 2004 09:44:19 AM new
one ex surgeon who now works with different interest groups said-the most powerful group will win.
I just called the lab and ask for breakdown of my test for 140,wow,the clerk said she is not trained to explain what the abbreviation means and i should call the doc office.
Then further digging ,this is not the only bill i will have to pay,there is another bill which is on the way for 64 dollars.
It is too bad we cannot deal with our body the way we deal with our car,at some point in time,we just ditch our old car and get a new one.
Unfortunately this is not an option with our body.
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on September 22, 2004 09:46:32 AM new
helen - Yes....let's don't listen to what the Canadian's themselves are saying. A recent article I read said some 64% of Canadian's AREN't happy with their system. Let's just ignore all those people and pretend differently.
--------------
etexbill - Exactly....the doctors themselves are, in every article I've ever read where doctors express their own view points, saying that they're asked to treat way too many people AND that the waits are not in the patients best interests. Especially when it come to cancer patients having to wait way too long to begin their chemo and radiation because of a lack of equipment and a shortage of doctors....that's NOT in the patients best interest in any way, shape or form.
posted on September 22, 2004 09:46:38 AM new
Yikes, maggie, $460.00/month.
Working for a large hospital, the pay wasn't great but the benefits made up for it. My health care insurance was practically nothing. Now, I have Medicare and have found that it has not helped me all that much. Don't put off those exams!
The two large hospitals in our city are suing each other saying that their ads are hurting each other's business. Ads?
So much for being non-profit!
posted on September 22, 2004 09:46:41 AM new
when someone compares the system among european countries,canada and our own,do they consider the cost,i mean the portion picked up by the goverment??
One country may have the best system ,but how long can it last if it runs up a big deficit??
Can Canada and the european countries afford to do what they are doing now and for how long??
-sig file -------Life is one big happy 'All You Can Eat' buffet .
posted on September 22, 2004 09:50:53 AM new
I could rip apart your dumb replies to the facts that I offered but it would take stopwhining's thread too far off topic. We are all aware of your selfish Bush agenda, lindka.
Stopwhining has a legitimate question which your political rant fails to answer.
Can't have that
Sniping works up a thirst"