More evidence of our f'ed up medical system

[barbarienne]

I have health insurance. By the standards of my moronic country, I have pretty good health insurance

Comments

[drlaurac]

Agreed. The tech who takes the x-ray can usually tell what it says, but they're not allowed to tell you. Instead you have to wait FOREVER for a third party to read it, have it transcribed, and then wait some more for your doctor to get back to you. It STINKS.

[julesjones]

Shall I distress you by telling you how many hours I had to wait for the British Socialist Death Panel With Infinite Waiting Times to tell me whether or not I'd broken a bone in my foot?

No, it should not require multiple phone calls by the patient. It should not require *any* phone calls by the patient, unless there is a good excuse like "whoops, multiple trauma patients just came through the door, anyone not bleeding to death goes to the back of the queue."

[rhia_hilldancer]

I heartily agree. Did you go to your doctor or the ER? And I'm sorry you are in pain.

[barbarienne]

Doctor's office. There was no specific "trauma moment" when I hurt it. It just developed slowly over the course of weeks, and finally I noticed that it was hurting to a crippling degree.

Which is what makes the delay so annoying. I may well have developed a hairline fracture a while ago, and it could now be turning into something serious that can rapidly go downhill.

Or it might just be soft tissue damage, in which case isn't it better to get it into PT before it gets any worse?

[shana]

When I hurt my foot, I went to the podiatrist. They did the x-rays and gave me the diagnosis at once.

But they only work with the ankle and below.

[barbarienne]

Alas, I have an HMO and they require referrals, so I had to go to my regular doctor and do what she said to do.

[jon_chance]

I'm so sorry to hear this! Is this from the time you twisted your ankle when we last saw eachother for brunch in Manhattan??

[barbarienne]

I suspect it may be. I was so focused on the knee that I didn't pay attention to the ankle. It's been a little sore for a long while, but it finally came to a head last week when the pain got quite bad.