I heard on the ABC Nightly News new information on the ranking of causes of death in the U.S. #1heart disease #2 cancer #3 MEDICAL MISTAKES! #3 is more than accidents, suicide, terrorists, traffic deaths, other diseases and guns! Government should register doctors on a danger scale.
Doctors more dangerous than handguns.
- Thread starter PAShooter
- Start date
After working almost 50 years in the health care industry, I can assure you that medical mistakes are an everyday event and when added to the exposure to really sick people when you go to a hospital or clinic or other health care facility, visiting such places is a high risk situation at best. In some ways I think that the advances in medical technology and the associated increase in specialization has so fragmented health care that it is rare to encounter a health care professional with a broad overview of medicine and health who is able to see you as a whole person. Specialists and subspecialists can't help but see you from the perspective of their own training and experience, and while humorous, there is truth in the story of when I got hurt riding a skateboard (and I was old enough to know better), several of my neighbors who were physicians ran out to help me (this took place on a military base where most of the officers working at the base hospital lived in the same general area of the officer housing section, including myself as a health care administrator). My next door neighbor, an OB-Gyn specialist, saw me lying on the ground and asked if my uterus was OK (I am male!), another neighbor, an ophthalmologist, ran up to me and asked if my eye was injured. Fortunately one of my neighbors was a radiologist who looked at me and said get down to the hospital for some x-rays because it looked like my leg was broken (it was).
Add to this the requirement for an unbelievable amount of documentation for every visit (primarily for billing, not health purposes) and you will not often find a provider who truly looks at all the issues and conditions of the patient, but just focuses on the specific complaint of the day and/or his or her speciality area. Having a misdiagnosis or mistreatment or being prescribed medications that can cause additional problems because of co-morbidities that the patient has but didn't mention for that specific visit all add up to a good chance of having a medical "mistake" that can have disastrous consequences for the patient.
I recommend (and I am not a doctor or other health care provider) that you treat yourself with common sense for the little things, and only seek help when the issue is serious. Its almost certainly true that its more dangerous to walk into an Emergency Department than it is to walk into a hot gun range.
Add to this the requirement for an unbelievable amount of documentation for every visit (primarily for billing, not health purposes) and you will not often find a provider who truly looks at all the issues and conditions of the patient, but just focuses on the specific complaint of the day and/or his or her speciality area. Having a misdiagnosis or mistreatment or being prescribed medications that can cause additional problems because of co-morbidities that the patient has but didn't mention for that specific visit all add up to a good chance of having a medical "mistake" that can have disastrous consequences for the patient.
I recommend (and I am not a doctor or other health care provider) that you treat yourself with common sense for the little things, and only seek help when the issue is serious. Its almost certainly true that its more dangerous to walk into an Emergency Department than it is to walk into a hot gun range.
Yes, but imagine how much higher numbers one and two would be without doctors. We have made great strides in treating heart disease. Raise your hand if you have a stent. Raise your hand if your a cancer survivor.
contender
Ruger Guru
I'm sure this thread is going to get a lot of response.
I have LONG said that the health care system in this country has deteriorated due to the exact reasons vito has mentioned. Specialists instead of general health care doctors who only look at a specific thing, instead of knowing about the whole body may miss something very important. And general practitioners are fast becoming extinct. When I was born, almost 58 years ago, we had a local general practitioner who delivered me in a SMALL clinic, and I was pre-mature, at 4 lbs, 3 ozs. I had to have an incubator. Yet, this man, a real doctor, not only kept me alive, he made house calls because of my mothers condition. He had been in practice for only 5 years when I was born.
He just passed away himself about 2 years ago. He kept his office open practically until his death. Now, in his later years,,, he didn't treat as many nor as serious stuff,,, but he had lifelong patients who he knew trusted him & who needed his care.
Mistakes? Yes, even he made a few,,, but I don't recall any lawsuits on him for it. But in general,,, he was a much better doctor than many out there now.
Now, you can not hardly find any general practitioners like that.
Medical mistakes happen way more often than we hear about in the media unless it's a truly bizarre case,, such as amputating the wrong limb, or doing an operation on the wrong patient.
And now, with the current method of the health care system,, it's worse,,, and going to get even worse as more time passes.
Now,,, I KNOW for a fact that there are a lot of excellent doctors out there,,, who are truly good at what they do & all. I applaud them & hope that if I ever need services,,, I get one like them. I had one when I had surgery on my leg in 1984 at the VA hospital. He was excellent. Yet, on one of my post surgery visits, he was off,,,, and his stand in did something that even he later said should have been done differently. Luckily, in my case, the results of his minor mistake are not of any real consequence.
But the good ones,,, God bless them. And even they make mistakes,,, for they are human, and the body is a complex thing to work on.
I have LONG said that the health care system in this country has deteriorated due to the exact reasons vito has mentioned. Specialists instead of general health care doctors who only look at a specific thing, instead of knowing about the whole body may miss something very important. And general practitioners are fast becoming extinct. When I was born, almost 58 years ago, we had a local general practitioner who delivered me in a SMALL clinic, and I was pre-mature, at 4 lbs, 3 ozs. I had to have an incubator. Yet, this man, a real doctor, not only kept me alive, he made house calls because of my mothers condition. He had been in practice for only 5 years when I was born.
He just passed away himself about 2 years ago. He kept his office open practically until his death. Now, in his later years,,, he didn't treat as many nor as serious stuff,,, but he had lifelong patients who he knew trusted him & who needed his care.
Mistakes? Yes, even he made a few,,, but I don't recall any lawsuits on him for it. But in general,,, he was a much better doctor than many out there now.
Now, you can not hardly find any general practitioners like that.
Medical mistakes happen way more often than we hear about in the media unless it's a truly bizarre case,, such as amputating the wrong limb, or doing an operation on the wrong patient.
And now, with the current method of the health care system,, it's worse,,, and going to get even worse as more time passes.
Now,,, I KNOW for a fact that there are a lot of excellent doctors out there,,, who are truly good at what they do & all. I applaud them & hope that if I ever need services,,, I get one like them. I had one when I had surgery on my leg in 1984 at the VA hospital. He was excellent. Yet, on one of my post surgery visits, he was off,,,, and his stand in did something that even he later said should have been done differently. Luckily, in my case, the results of his minor mistake are not of any real consequence.
But the good ones,,, God bless them. And even they make mistakes,,, for they are human, and the body is a complex thing to work on.
trebor44
Blackhawk
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There are many good, well trained, caring physicians in the medical profession. The downhill slide started in the sixties with good intentions by those outside of the medical profession. While many think this is a current issue, it has been prevalent for many years (centuries). Use due diligence when dealing with the medical community (that includes ALL members). Certificates on the wall are meaningless, word of mouth has some value, BUT trust you gut and question what you see and hear! Physicians have value, but so do undertakers.
CGDustDevil
Buckeye
Just take a gander at the cost of malpractice insurance if anyone has any questions about the frequency of medical mistakes. Sadly, many mistakes are buried with the patient.
My father (at the tender age of 66) died because not one, not two, not three, but as many as half dozen different doctors mistook a heart valve problem for the flu and prescribed accordingly. 25 years later my older brother Dennis ran into a similar misdiagnosis in Prescott. He was treated for everything other than what the problem was, and Dennis was literally dying. One young emergency room doctor recognized that something was amiss and asked Dennis if there was any history of heart problems in the family. Once my brother explained our father's demise, the ER doctor acted quickly, confirmed a diagnosis of a failing heart valve, and Dennis was under the knife in a matter of hours.
No doubt that doctor saved my brother's life.
Life is an imperfect science... And we're all just a mistake or two away from the end of it.
My father (at the tender age of 66) died because not one, not two, not three, but as many as half dozen different doctors mistook a heart valve problem for the flu and prescribed accordingly. 25 years later my older brother Dennis ran into a similar misdiagnosis in Prescott. He was treated for everything other than what the problem was, and Dennis was literally dying. One young emergency room doctor recognized that something was amiss and asked Dennis if there was any history of heart problems in the family. Once my brother explained our father's demise, the ER doctor acted quickly, confirmed a diagnosis of a failing heart valve, and Dennis was under the knife in a matter of hours.
No doubt that doctor saved my brother's life.
Life is an imperfect science... And we're all just a mistake or two away from the end of it.
Jimbo357mag
Hawkeye
I don't know how the statistics were acquired but while things like hospital infections and mistakes with drugs are easy to define the complicated care required for seriously ill patients sometimes does not turn out well. I would not call the latter medical mistakes.
And its going to get worse I'm afraid. For those youngsters with a calling to medicine, unless you are born rich, you are committed to a life of debt. Medical/Dental schools not cost on average of $100,000+ PER YEAR. So X's 4 years that's $400,000. Sure, you might get a small scholarship, but they are far and few between. Oh, the government is VERY helpful, they will give you a loan for the entire amount! They will also charge you an interest rate of approx 6.5% (and going up yearly). It used to be this interest didn't kick in until graduation. HA! Not anymore. Now interest starts on day 1! They are also kind enough to charge origination fees for the loans that cost between 1-4%. Don't worry though, the Feds will be thrilled to let you add THAT fee to your loan as well (interest starting immediately, of course.)
So by the time you start your poor paying residency which lasts 2,3,4 years depending on the specialty, you are close to a half a million in debt! That's not a typo, A HALF A MILLION IN DEBT.
Who can afford then to become a Family Physician, one of the lowest paying jobs in medicine?
Things are getting worse, not better. Oh, and keep in mind that I am assuming mom and dad paid for college (or the kid had a full scholarship) otherwise the debt load is even greater.
If they are lucky they will pay off their debt by the time they retire. Making yet another assumption that the stress doesn't kill them before that date.
We need a government that will assist those who are willing to dedicate their lives to helping others, not intent on sucking the life out of them with onerous fees, interest rates, and lack of support. I am not against helping others in other countries in need, but WE NEED TO HELP OUR OWN FIRST, DAMMIT!
OK, rant over, boy, I feel better, but I'm still not going to take my blood pressure for a while...
So by the time you start your poor paying residency which lasts 2,3,4 years depending on the specialty, you are close to a half a million in debt! That's not a typo, A HALF A MILLION IN DEBT.
Who can afford then to become a Family Physician, one of the lowest paying jobs in medicine?
Things are getting worse, not better. Oh, and keep in mind that I am assuming mom and dad paid for college (or the kid had a full scholarship) otherwise the debt load is even greater.
If they are lucky they will pay off their debt by the time they retire. Making yet another assumption that the stress doesn't kill them before that date.
We need a government that will assist those who are willing to dedicate their lives to helping others, not intent on sucking the life out of them with onerous fees, interest rates, and lack of support. I am not against helping others in other countries in need, but WE NEED TO HELP OUR OWN FIRST, DAMMIT!
OK, rant over, boy, I feel better, but I'm still not going to take my blood pressure for a while...
Robes
Single-Sixer
No news flash here. I have a VERY bad opinion of the medical profession. Most of them are just a bunch of pill pushers for the deadly CRAP that the pharmaceutical companies push out.
Ya know what they call the guy who finishes last from medical school? ...... Doctor!
Ya know what they call the guy who finishes last from medical school? ...... Doctor!
Robes said:
Sorry, that's a very uninformed opinion, there are a LOT of people in medicine who want to do the right thing, problem is, the corporate structure won't let them. Too many bureaucrats. I'm sure there are some out there who are writing scripts because they don't have enough time to do much else but I believe they are in the minority. As as far as them pushing what the pharm companies "push out"...why would they? Do you think they are getting a kickback? Excuse me, but that is laughable, with the rules and regs in place now that is not happening, not unless you want to lose your license, face fines, maybe jail time. No way.
Rick Courtright
Hawkeye
Jimbo357mag said:
Hi,
I'm not so sure about the mistakes with drugs. Both my brother and I have been the victims of serious medical mistakes, same highly rated hospital, similar circumstances, involving both what should have been routine procedures, and medications. And decades apart, which doesn't tell me they've improved things a whole lot.
Regarding the meds, in my case, I nearly had to become physical with a nurse (who no speaka da English so well--common place in local medical practice) who kept trying to give me a pain killer I was allergic to. I finally got a doctor to red pencil the meds order, have someone 'splain to her in Tagalog what he was doing, and survived her.
In my brother's case, they "killed" him after a lengthy surgery, similar to my own. They had me under for a bit under four hours, he was under for over ten! It took me nearly 24 hours to truly "wake up." So you can imagine the dose of anesthetic he got. In the recovery room, as soon as he wiggled, they started giving him pain killers. My SIL was talking to his surgeon right after the procedure, and all of a sudden he took off like a shot when a Code Blue was called over the PA system. She was scared to death when that happened, and rightly so: it was her husband/my brother who'd flat lined.
There was an interaction between the residual anesthetic and the pain killer, both narcotics, and they'd ODed him. They quickly got him back, but still... I'm not sure what was scarier in that incident: the fact they made the first mistake, or the fact they must do it often enough they have a revival procedure so well developed. :shock:
I think doctors are the best people to see if something's obviously broken or bleeding badly. They generally seem to do a good job of handling those two kinds of problems. Otherwise, I try to give them wide berth.
Rick C
Colonialgirl
Hawkeye
I had a great Doctor way back in the early 60's; a GP who cared and took care; others through the years have NOT been as good. Did run into a great Pulminologist here in Tampa; one wall of his office was a book case with a load of medical texts and self help medical study courses; One corner of his office had a small table and chair, with a medical text Face down to mark the spot where he had been reading it. He said he thought that the small spots on the upper part of my lungs were NOT cancer based on the CT scan, BUT recommended a new scan every six months to keep an eye on them; FInally the last time, he said not only was he POSITIVE the spots were not cancer but that they had gotten smaller and he suspected it either scar tissue from an infection or something I had enhaled that was being absorbed by the body. He also said that if I liked, I could keep getting CT scans (with a smile); Told him I thought not since I suspected I already glowed in the Dark.
Now at the VA, my PRIMARY CARE is a PhD Nurse Practitioner who takes an interest in everything and recommends specialists and makes appointments for me. (I see her this October for my "yearly").
Now at the VA, my PRIMARY CARE is a PhD Nurse Practitioner who takes an interest in everything and recommends specialists and makes appointments for me. (I see her this October for my "yearly").
Robes
Single-Sixer
You can be sorry all you want. Uninformed? How would you know? My experiences over the last ten years do nothing BUT enforce my opinion. There are good doctors,... BUT they are becoming more scarce. You can run your gums all you want. I was in public accounting and had multiple doctor practices as clients. I have witnessed, first hand, the pharmaceutical reps greasing the doctors. Besides,.. a lot of what the pharmaceutical companies are calling meds is dangerous crap. Look at all the lawsuits out there for dangerous and deadly "meds" that were put on the market. The worst part is that the FDA has prostituted itself to the pharmaceutical companies. I will agree with one part of your post " the corporate structure won't let them. Too many bureaucrats." That,... is a problem that has become all too universal in every part of life.
Robes said:
How would I know? Medicine since 1982, disclosure, I am a dentist, not a physician. Sister is a physician since 1984, youngest sister an attorney since 1986. I have seen a lot of it, from various angles. You have 10 years of doing accounting for multiple doctor practices? And you claim to know they were "greased"? Maybe you had the bad luck to represent the not so dedicated docs? I'm sure they are around but to lump ALL docs in the same sweeping condemnation most certainly is UNINFORMED. Of course, you are entitled to your opinion, just don't tout anecdotal evidence as fact. And BTW, while some lawsuits are legitimate AND necessary, MANY are the result greed and people looking for a fast buck. Just as you have some in the medical profession who are lacking ethics, so to, unfortunately, do they exist in the field of law. And accounting I understand
Truly, not looking to pick a fight with you, I would just ask you refrain, if possible, from painting the entire medical profession (or ANY profession) with such broad strokes.
Poco Oso
Buckeye
Wasn't there just a dentist in the news for killing some unfortunate with a bad or unnecessary procedure? Sounds to me like you want to give all medicos a pass. I have to say, I after the last twenty years of increasing breakdowns of this poor abused body, I've had the misfortune of meeting many of the same types Robes speaks of. He's pretty spot on from my viewpoint.
Well, Judy and my opinion has been very positive of late. We did our due diligence on finding a qualified, respected and experienced Orthopedic surgeon. We also checked into the history and reputation of the hospital itself. I am glad to say that the surgery went quite well. Judy walked with me at Walmart (where we are going every other day for walking) again today using the buggy as a walker and she is doing awesome. I couldn't be happier with the medical system in this case.
I know, just a singular case but it is a positive.
Karl
I know, just a singular case but it is a positive.
Karl
Robes
Single-Sixer
Flyer doc....had you pegged for an FAA physician. The doctors offices that were my clients were VERY reputable. All but one would not accept the "grease". I could go into detail if I wish, but it isn't really anyone's business. It is NOT anecdotal. There ARE good doctors out there....but they are getting VERY scarce.
Yeah,... there are many professions that are going south. My profession is one of them in my opinion.
The doctor that I use,....IS an FAA physician and I looked long and hard to find him. The one factor was that he listens to his patients.
Yeah,... there are many professions that are going south. My profession is one of them in my opinion.
The doctor that I use,....IS an FAA physician and I looked long and hard to find him. The one factor was that he listens to his patients.
Robes said:
Great choice using an FAA physician, they are among the best IMHO. Unfortunately, it only takes about 3% bad apples to give a profession a bad name. That's why every time I see a dentist in the news for the wrong reason it makes me cringe. Not only did he screw up his patients and himself, he also, by association, damaged the reputation of ALL dentists. You are doing your due diligence and that is paramount. Many people, like yourself, are jaded with the medical establishment. I understand. But if you think its bad now, wait 10 years. Its going down fast, I hope we never end up with socialized medicine. That is where we are headed and it does worry me.
Regards,
flyerdoc (a name given to me by one of my patients heard one too many of my flying stories) In my next lifetime I want to come back as Jimmy Buffett's personal pilot of the Hemisphere Dancer...hell, maybe I'll just come back AS Jimmy Buffett!
NixieTube
Blackhawk
I used to work for a relatively large hospital in a very large city in America in the outpatient Psychiatry department, right around the time the first really market-saturated SSRI antidepressants took the marketplace by storm. I did very mundane work, but it was important, at least as far as record keeping was concerned.
The most impressive thing about the drug company reps. was how TALL they were. And how GORGEOUS they were, with the nice shoes they were wearing. And how big their BOOBS were. You're talking tall, vibrant, smart, well-endowed, really, really good looking women (and in a department where the MDs were male/female by 9:1 or so I *never* saw a male drug rep.) And how they always brought sweets and boxes of donuts, bagels, cream cheese, and other things with them when they made their visits. It was always a lot of fun when they came to the offices with new samples. Freshest donuts ever. And wow did they smell nice. It was like....you were in a casino in Monaco or something, at least for 15 minutes or so, and then it was back to taking care of the chronic patient who had cigarette burns all over his hands and had been sleeping in his bathtub for two days.
Now, hardboiled and serious M.D.s are supposed to be able to see through all that fluff. On television. But it was a LOT of fluff, I can tell you.
And in a sense I don't object to it. Do you think doctors who have gone through medical school and are just barely making the mortgage payments on their half-million dollar houses + 2 german cars want to stand around EVERY single day surrounded by people who can barely be helped / can't make it / will never get better? Even if they do impeccable work? 5 or more days a week and then be responsible when someone sues them after they relapse and walk in front of a bus? Here's a clue: they're human too, and they occasionally like a little fluff.
It's depressing. People who are chronically in trouble don't get much better except for miracles. The drug company reps. were at least a little fun to have around a couple times a month.
The most impressive thing about the drug company reps. was how TALL they were. And how GORGEOUS they were, with the nice shoes they were wearing. And how big their BOOBS were. You're talking tall, vibrant, smart, well-endowed, really, really good looking women (and in a department where the MDs were male/female by 9:1 or so I *never* saw a male drug rep.) And how they always brought sweets and boxes of donuts, bagels, cream cheese, and other things with them when they made their visits. It was always a lot of fun when they came to the offices with new samples. Freshest donuts ever. And wow did they smell nice. It was like....you were in a casino in Monaco or something, at least for 15 minutes or so, and then it was back to taking care of the chronic patient who had cigarette burns all over his hands and had been sleeping in his bathtub for two days.
Now, hardboiled and serious M.D.s are supposed to be able to see through all that fluff. On television. But it was a LOT of fluff, I can tell you.
And in a sense I don't object to it. Do you think doctors who have gone through medical school and are just barely making the mortgage payments on their half-million dollar houses + 2 german cars want to stand around EVERY single day surrounded by people who can barely be helped / can't make it / will never get better? Even if they do impeccable work? 5 or more days a week and then be responsible when someone sues them after they relapse and walk in front of a bus? Here's a clue: they're human too, and they occasionally like a little fluff.
It's depressing. People who are chronically in trouble don't get much better except for miracles. The drug company reps. were at least a little fun to have around a couple times a month.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
Back to the point of this thread: I don't have much doubt that it's almost as risky to get care from some physicians as it is to just completely avoid it and "go commando" with your own problem. The error/mistake/screwup rate is probably quite high but it's a closed community - they circle the wagons and protect themselves, and they have money. It's very much like modern Universities and Colleges. They inhabit a different level of existence. We live in a world that's a constant battle between the Doctors, Administrators and Trial Lawyers, and they don't live in the same world you do.
NixieTube said:
You are correct, they (the docs and medical personnel that is, not the administrators) don't live in the same world, their world is full of anxiety with regards to the next frivolous law suit they are facing. Let me know if you feel the same way about docs and medical people the next time you face a medical crisis. You may change your tune then, at least I hope so. It's the administrators that are the ones in the protective bubble with golden parachutes etc. NOT THE DOC's!!!
NixieTube
Blackhawk
flyerdoc said:
I tend to agree with that. Most of the doctors I know are dedicated people who really want to help their patients as best they can. I think we'd have better medical care in this country if the insurance burden was cut in half. We certainly wouldn't have so many useless tests and procedures, needless referrals, and all the accompanying administrative and risk/loss expenses.
It's going to come to that because the aging cohort of our population is just - very simply - going to cost all the money we have unless we do.
We spend all this money for lawyers. Don't forget that.
How America became a society dominated by lawyers in the latter half of the 20th Century and into the early part of the 21st is going to be a very interesting subject for historians to examine 500 years from now when they're picking over the ruins. They'll discover that it could have been stopped but nobody was willing to do it. We're tremendously overburdened by legislation and the threat of lawsuits, and everyone in this country would live much better if some people got SAT DOWN.
NixieTube
Blackhawk
flyerdoc said:
I have to try and find one of those old advertisements in the back of a magazine talking about how you could go to law school for $30 or something. And it was TRUE! Now it's $20 grand a year for the slimy ones and $100k a year and up for the ones that really teach you how to wreak havoc.
CGDustDevil
Buckeye
737tdi said:
Great news Karl! As much as we tend to complain, there's a LOT of very good medical folks out there. My luck has run pretty much 50/50, just like with the cops!
Sometimes ya get lucky and get a good one, sometimes ya don't. Glad to hear you & Judy DID! :mrgreen:
Thank you Pete: A bright spot in an otherwise argumentative situation. I could not have asked for better care for my wife. The hospital, the doc. even the anesthesiologist came by prior to her being released. The nurses and rehab muscular man was kind and caring. Just a note, he made me look like Urkel and I am in very good shape (it was funny, he was 25 and I'm 54).
Anyway, I do appreciate the hard work that these guys and gals do to improve a persons life. Judy, wasn't dyeing, she just could no longer walk without extreme pain.
I think a lot of the cost is experimentation and the use of modern devices to improve quality of life. The people like me will die of lung cancer or heart disease, it is inevitable. I have inhaled every chemical known I think? I won't even begin to list them. 10 years in the Corps.. 26 more years in aviation maintenance, it is inevitable. It is just something we have to accept to do the job that we do. JMO.
Karl
Anyway, I do appreciate the hard work that these guys and gals do to improve a persons life. Judy, wasn't dyeing, she just could no longer walk without extreme pain.
I think a lot of the cost is experimentation and the use of modern devices to improve quality of life. The people like me will die of lung cancer or heart disease, it is inevitable. I have inhaled every chemical known I think? I won't even begin to list them. 10 years in the Corps.. 26 more years in aviation maintenance, it is inevitable. It is just something we have to accept to do the job that we do. JMO.
Karl
ChiefMuzz
Blackhawk
My thoughts on this subject are personal as I have worked in hospitals my whole professional career. I've had many physicians who were fantastic, caring individuals. Many more than people want to give them credit for. I've also had quite a few Doctors I would not let treat my family. Same thing goes for mechanics, plumbers and dentists.
For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Medicine has been specializing since it's inception. It will continue to do so. Very few med students come out to be a "General Practicioner" anymore because as noted they have 4 years of undergraduate, 4 years of med school and typically 2-4 years residency. 12 years and half a million in debt and now you want them to come out and make $120-150k at best. No way. They have to specialize to survive. On the other side of the coin there are Physicians throughtout the U.S. that can treat incredibly rare diseases. Things 50 years ago we didn't even know about. You can find exceptional availability for transplants, cancer treatment, heart disease care, etc usually within hours of even remote places. That's incredibly exceptional.
There are quite a few issues in healthcare. None to be overlooked as unfortunately mistakes in healthcare costs lives. More people access healthcare now than ever before at a greater rate, so the chance of more mistakes increases. It is a broken system and one that likely won't be fixed soon. So what do you do?
Well you can start by taking responsibility for your health. Quit smoking or chewing, get more active, eat well, cut back on the drinking, and on and on. If you need to take medications take them as prescribed. Unfortunately most would rather complain about healthcare than take responsibility for their health. I'm willing to bet for every one bad physician there are 10 bad patients who just want him/her to fix them. Lifestyle related disease is still the biggest killer in healthcare. That means you kill yourself more than any doctor does, but I haven't heard that mentioned yet. I've seen enough from both sides of the fence to know that you have more control over your health than anyone else and so many of the biggest issues revolve around people just doing what they want with no responsibility for their actions. There are whole departments in hospitals dedicated to trying to convince people to quit smoking or taking their meds. How sad? And yet every time the come in for an exacerbation of COPD or heart failure, the same doctor has to treat them. If you want to complain about healthcare but refuse to help yourself than just don't use it.
Or understand that you've not done everythkng right, just like the Doctor - and you do your best and find a Doctor that does his and work together to stay out of the hospitals.
By the way, my grandmother died in the hospital she worked as an RN in for 20 years, on the same unit she worked on, because of a mistake. My grandfather knew they made the wrong decision, as did my dad, who is also an RN. I knew some of those physicians well. Some of them I still deeply respect. We all understood my grandmothers health was poor and that we were just prolonging the inevitable. My grandfather was there and made the decision to stop resuscitation efforts. I know what consequences some decisions have.
For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. Medicine has been specializing since it's inception. It will continue to do so. Very few med students come out to be a "General Practicioner" anymore because as noted they have 4 years of undergraduate, 4 years of med school and typically 2-4 years residency. 12 years and half a million in debt and now you want them to come out and make $120-150k at best. No way. They have to specialize to survive. On the other side of the coin there are Physicians throughtout the U.S. that can treat incredibly rare diseases. Things 50 years ago we didn't even know about. You can find exceptional availability for transplants, cancer treatment, heart disease care, etc usually within hours of even remote places. That's incredibly exceptional.
There are quite a few issues in healthcare. None to be overlooked as unfortunately mistakes in healthcare costs lives. More people access healthcare now than ever before at a greater rate, so the chance of more mistakes increases. It is a broken system and one that likely won't be fixed soon. So what do you do?
Well you can start by taking responsibility for your health. Quit smoking or chewing, get more active, eat well, cut back on the drinking, and on and on. If you need to take medications take them as prescribed. Unfortunately most would rather complain about healthcare than take responsibility for their health. I'm willing to bet for every one bad physician there are 10 bad patients who just want him/her to fix them. Lifestyle related disease is still the biggest killer in healthcare. That means you kill yourself more than any doctor does, but I haven't heard that mentioned yet. I've seen enough from both sides of the fence to know that you have more control over your health than anyone else and so many of the biggest issues revolve around people just doing what they want with no responsibility for their actions. There are whole departments in hospitals dedicated to trying to convince people to quit smoking or taking their meds. How sad? And yet every time the come in for an exacerbation of COPD or heart failure, the same doctor has to treat them. If you want to complain about healthcare but refuse to help yourself than just don't use it.
Or understand that you've not done everythkng right, just like the Doctor - and you do your best and find a Doctor that does his and work together to stay out of the hospitals.
By the way, my grandmother died in the hospital she worked as an RN in for 20 years, on the same unit she worked on, because of a mistake. My grandfather knew they made the wrong decision, as did my dad, who is also an RN. I knew some of those physicians well. Some of them I still deeply respect. We all understood my grandmothers health was poor and that we were just prolonging the inevitable. My grandfather was there and made the decision to stop resuscitation efforts. I know what consequences some decisions have.
GP100 said:
I don't think so, not even close, there are many thousands (millions perhaps) of soldiers that followed orders only to die in vain due to the poor military tactics (I think we can call them mistakes) used by there commanders. I am sure there are many other examples...
