We have great doctors, nurses, facilities, but actually getting into them in a timely fashion is a challenge. I am frustrated…..
I HAVE BEEN a fan of national health care for all, be it a form of Medicare with some private insurance involved (Australia) or a flat-out single-payer system like many modern, developed nations.
One argument that always gets thrown back at me is “yes, but do you know long people in those countries have to wait for (fill in the blank)?”
Back in 1999 when I had my first hip replacement, I had to wait six months to get the doctor I wanted. The same is true in a lot of other countries. But had I shown up with a major heart attack, I would have gotten instant care; the same is true in other countries.
Two years ago, when my wife first started showing signs of dementia, which would turn out to be frontal temporal degeneration, we of course were looking for anything that might slow down the progress of the condition. Our neurologist referred us to a Penn Medicine section in downtown Philly where a trial was underway for a treatment that, while not curing FTD, could slow it down.
Our wait time for her intake appointment? Nine months. By then she was in memory care and her condition had advanced to the point that she would not qualify for the trial.
Fast forward. I have been having back and knee pain. I have worked with a good pain practice where I have been very satisfied with the doctors and staff. We have gone through a series of jumping through hoops, all required by insurance, to test out various treatments before we move on to what probably was inevitable all along. All this has taken close to a year. It has been complicated by my initial pain doc going on maternity leave.
So, recently I had one of the process-of-elimination procedures. When I called to learn next steps, which I had been told would be another injection, I learned I had to go into the office for an evaluation. But the doctor who did the procedure had no free office slots for months, so I would have to see someone I’d never seen before.
I DECLINED. I told them if I couldn’t proceed with the process as I was told it would happen, I’d pass and maybe at some point, we could start over again. That must have gotten their attention because an appointment with my doc suddenly was open, but not for a couple of weeks.
Since I need treatments for my back and knee, I am guessing it will take two or three months to work through all the appointments. Some of this is because insurance requires certain steps that in the end add costs but in the whole scheme of things, I suppose, prevent unnecessary procedures.
So be it. In the meantime, I really can’t do much in the way of exercise or walking. I was planning some Fall activities but have put those on hold. While I wait I’m working hard on shedding some pounds, hoping relieving the weight my aging joints have to carry around will help. Pain, it seems, will just have to be a part of the landscape so it’s suck-it-up time.
But please don’t talk to me about how wonderful our health care system is. It may well be, in terms of the quality of doctors and staff, but if you can’t access it in a reasonable time frame, it isn’t worth much.
And, not to be political, but what the hell, with all the slashing and burning of Medicaid, looming tightening of Medicare, it ain’t going to get any better., especially for those with limited resources.
Such are the times we live in here in the good old USofA. Are we great yet?
Rich Heiland is a retired journalist and semi-retired consultant, trainer and public speaker. During his journalism career he was a reporter, editor, publisher, college instructor, part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team and a National Newspaper Association Columnist of the Year honoree. He also writes the intodementia.com blog about his family’s experience with dementia. He lives in West Chester, PA and can be reached at [email protected].