originally posted by: rickymouse
Doctors send people for expensive tests they do not need to send them for all the time around here. Getting one that will not do that is really a
miracle, the hospitals want the doctors to prescribe services so the hospital can survive to employ their workers. Nobody is getting rich off of the
healthcare system around here, but it creates jobs. The technology is really expensive and to buy that technology, money needs to be acquired to pay
for it...hence tests that are not really needed. It is getting like the show "House" on TV where they almost kill people with tests before
discovering what disease that person has....usually the simplest of disease is misdiagnosed here to create income for the healthcare system. This for
profit healthcare system wants us to be dependent on it so we supply money to the system.
and socialized medical care isn't any better. in fact it's worse. you see they seem to only run
all those expensive tests as a last resort (if
at all). in fact getting those tests can be a miracle. first off it can take well over a year just to get to see a specialist, IF your doctor happens
to feel you need to of course. and even then they love to treat via cheapest way possible. which of course means expensive medications first, since
that costs the healthcare system nothing, since that is up to the person or their private health insurance to pay for. it seems the motto is "treat
for the least expensive treatment first". expensive tests seem to be a last resort, normally after years of suffering.
one Canadian friend hurt themselves at a sporting event. went in to get help. was told was a sprain. pretty much given pain killers. going back in
because it was not getting better was told after a more thorough check, that it was something much worse (i can't remember exactly what now). and that
if they had realized the problem, they could have fixed them right up. but now it was a permanent, and crippled the leg. many years later they were
able to get it repaired with a new surgery (down in the US of course).
another Canadian friend went in complaining of pain. they spent at least FIVE YEARS prescribing heavier and heavier pain medication to treat their
"back injury". after spending those years in pain, which the medications could not cover, they were finally able to go down to the US to be
checked out. turns out they had stomach cancer. now they live pain free. thanks to the US medical system and their actually testing for problems.
then there is a very close relative. they have had issues with
"seizures" for years (at least 20 years). even lost their driver's licence a few
times until they had been "seizure free" for several months. put on all sorts of medications to help prevent seizures. just recently went in after
injuring themselves in a fall from yet another seizure. the doctor asked why they did not immediately call an ambulance and take them to the
hospital. in which my relative replied that they had been told on numerous occasions that unless the seizures lasted over a certain amount of time,
not to go to the hospital, because it was just wasting money, and they were fine. turns out the reason the doctor was upset they did not immediately
go to the hospital, is because they had not been
seizures at all. that in fact they had been having small
STROKES and not seizures.
seriously lucky they are not dead or permanently crippled.
those tests and equipment have a very real purpose. yet they don't actually need to be anywhere as expensive as they are. after all how can other (non
socialized medical), countries give those exact same tests, using the exact same equipment, charge only a fraction of the price?
and rather disheartening. a friend posted a news story just this week. it seems a teenager died of Leukemia in Southern Ontario this week. they even
had more than enough people willing and able to donate bone marrow, which would have saved their life. the only problem was the hospital did not have
the room available to do the needed work and treat them. it seems they can only do 5 a month. and were just unable to accommodate them. so they
died.