Rant: Healthcare profession - just a bloated billing beauracracy

Since January 1st, I've had to see close to a dozen different doctors covering a couple of issues (nothing too serious, if you care). What I've observed is that you spend 95% of your time and an inordinate amount of money just being processed. Whether it's sitting in a waiting room filling out triplicate paperwork for every single doctor you might talk to, meeting with the same insipid stickler for details and no concept of the big picture adminstration dufus with an IQ of about 20 (picture the SNL receptionist bit), and then resubmitting mountains of paperwork to that same admin idiot at the insurance co's, who all have a pass the buck attitude about customer service, it's a miserable existence. And what do you get for all that time, those headaches, and the huge expense? About 30 seconds in front of a doctor who tunes you out, makes a snap diagnosis within 8 seconds, and then lectures you at a 1st grade level about things you're way beyond at this poit, before running out to the next "patient". Personally, I had one doctor that I stop watched. I saw him for 1 minute and 11 seconds, on a first consultation that I setup. I've spent more time ordering at a drive through window.

Real medical practice is being lost in the corporatized shuffle. It's frankly not WORTH seeing a doctor anymore. I can do about 80-90% as good self diagnosising on the internet guide sites, and it involved 5% of the headache and time level, and none of the cost. I may mess up, but I've already seen two misdiagnoses from real doctors in the past 3 months, which wouldnt have happened if the dipshits had listened past the third word out of the patient's mouth (Im not the patient in most of my examples).

I remember, as a kid, my doctor spent time with me and my mom in his office, discussing everything to my mother's satisfaction. The guy knew tons about me personally, and the rest of my family, especially our health history. Now, we're just cattle, to be shuffled in and processed out as fast as possible to keep the cash register chugging along.

And the paperwork.. did I mention the paperwork? :banginghe :banginghe :banginghe

 

Having dealt with Vanderbilt Medical Centers has been a nice change. Once your information is in their system no more paperwork. You can go to any doctor or specialist of various fields and they all have access to your info including insurance. Walk in give them you name done. When you leave pay the co-pay and walk out.

It also seems to me that cities with good medical school in town seem to attract the better doctors. My experience with doctors/hospitals in Charlotte was not very good. Hell they tried to bill us twice for my daughters birth-3 years after she was born. Doctors bed side manner was nonexistant and only when we got here my wife was correctly diagnosised after 2 years of getting run around between specialist and mis-diagnosised.

 

Someone else that shares my pain - we can start a support group Trace. But we'll serve Beer & bar food. None of that stale donuts and coffee bullshit.

That Vandy network sounds like nirvana. I just had a local hospital corp bill me (uh no) and successfully bill my insurance company for hundreds of dollars of charges I never incurred, and I'm having to deal with it, hence the pissy mood today.

I don't understand how this can happen.

 

i'm going blind.

 

What are you talking about?

 

glaucoma. 25% vision loss in left eye, the optic nerve has suffered irreparable damage. right eye ok. for now. surgery next week.

 

Hey I'm sorry. Best of luck, I"ll say a prayer.

 

it's all your fault.

now back to hh's rant.

 

Wait a minute...... You've seen nearly a dozen docs in 5 months for "nothing too serious"?

Let me save you some cash; you're a hypochondriac.




We sit on our asses all day, do nothing and wait till you pay your bill. Then we go in the back room, smoke bad cigars, split your money and play poker with it.

You have no clue the bullshit the medical profession puts up with in the name of HIPPA, Medicare, Medicaid, Joint Commission, private insurances and HMO's ..... just to stay open to take care of ingrates that think we do absolutely nothing.

One week working (or observing) health care professionals behind the scenes and you'd be whistling a different tune.

Next time you have a compound fracture, 104*F fever or chest pain, go to Canada; especially since our healthcare system is a bloated billing beauracracy.

 

I've been through a lot of the same shit, repeatedly, that HH mentioned here. But it's not the "medical profession" per se--it's the healthcare system as a whole that engenders most of the problems. It's a morass of bullshit, especially anything related to insurance.

The paperwork & shit is always a pain in the ass if you have to see more than one professional.

But there really are some dedicated, excellent caregivers out there who spend time with you & actually listen to what you're saying. I've been lucky to have a few.