Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Rant

I have a doctor's appointment today.  Nothing worrisome, just routine.  It seems that I have been bad again, and now the Doctor won't refill my prescriptions until I get myself in to the office.

Sigh, I hate going to the Doctor.  I never used to mind it, when I was younger.  It took me a while to figure out why I hate it so.  It's the modern Doctor's Office.

You see, I have been trying to make an appointment for several weeks.  But, they have this automated system, and at the end of it, they put you into a cue for the next available secretary.  And then, you wait, and wait and wait.  I usually get ticked and hang up, after I've been on hold for five or ten minutes.  I finally stuck it out, when threatened with the prescription thing.

Then, you get to the office and you sit in the waiting room and wait some more.  It doesn't matter if your appointment is at a certain time, you can usually count on waiting a half an hour or so.  All in a cramped room with several other people and nothing to read but year old magazines.

Finally you get to go to the examination room.  And, you guessed it, you sit and wait some more.  The nurse finally comes in and talks to you for a bit, takes your blood pressure and asks why you're here.  "Because your office made me come in!!!!" 

After that's done, you wait some more, and, FINALLY, the Doctor comes in.  He asks a few questions, tells you you're too fat and need to go on a diet, and gives you your prescription refills.  All in 10 or 15 minutes, which is all that is allotted for you.  Gotta get those patients in and out, so you can make more bucks, you understand!

I'm old enough to remember when it was different.  When you really knew your Doctor, and the Doctor knew you.  He'd ask how your family was doing, and he'd actually care, because he knew them too.  You felt that you were a person, not a faceless body, being shuffled through an assembly line.  Heck, when I was a kid, the Doctor still made house calls.

And, while I'm ranting, what good are GP's now, anyways, except to hand out prescriptions?  They won't draw blood for tests, they won't set a simple broken bone, they won't stitch up a wound, all things that GPs used to be able to do.  Oh, no, you have to go to a specialist for all of those.  And, if you call and say that you have a problem that needs immediate attention, they send you to Emergency.  Heaven forbid you should upset their assembly line.

I usually don't cry about the "good old days."  But, in this instance, in spite of all of the wonders of modern medicine, I really do think that we are worse off then we were when Doctors were real people.


Sorry, no pictures today.  Sorry for the rant, too.  Guess I just had to get it off of my chest.

9 comments:

IsobelleGoLightly said...

Next time call my favorite Doctor Wilson, Auntie Louise! He'd come to your house....oh...I forgot... he only treats hooved people. My lady said that one day she was in a doctor's office years ago and everyone waiting started to compare their appointment times and five people were scheduled for the same time for the same doctor! She doesn't go to that doctor's office anymore.

Louise said...

You're right, Isobelle. I have said for years that I'd rather go to my Vet than my Doctor. Both the Vet I used for my horses, and, now, my cat Vet, are vastly superior care givers than my Doctor.

Anonymous said...

I have two friends who are MD's and they complain bitterly about the hoops they have to jump through for medicare. Their hoops require us to jump through hoops to meet gov't requirements. So...if we have nationalized health care, will any of this get better? (my rant!)
I agree about the vet services....much better - and usually less expensive (though getting more costly all of the time)!

Terry said...

We are so lucky to have a good old-fashioned common sense family doctor. The down side is that now that we live in the country, he's 90 minutes away. Who wants to drive that long when they're hurt or sick?
We adore our small and large animal vets, who care about us, are accessible, and even let us call them on the phone just to pick their brains. They are fine human beings, and my personal heros.

Sharon said...

I just signed up to a new Dr. was somewhat surprised, you just go in and wait your turn, God forbid you are really sick! Had to find somebody, I need Rx for my potassium and had to get my records faxed before I couldn't get them at all!

I too, hate going to the Dr, It's always just for a script, I usually only get sick when I go into a waiting room filled with sick people.

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

I completely agree 100%! I hate going to the doctor's office anymore with all the waiting and feeling like cattle being sorted and shuffled around. ugh!

I do have a really wonderful OB/GYN that I am now using as my Primary Care doctor and I've known her since she delivered my twinlings 13 years ago. We sit and chat for at least 10 minutes about all sorts of things besides mdical stuff and I feel very comfie with her.

Oh man...this just reminds me that I need to set up a dental and eye exam...and mammogram for myself. bleh! I'd rather poke myself with prickly pear thorns instead :p

~Lisa

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

I work for a dentist and we're a little different breed I guess...But we're not automated in our office at least as far as making appointments via phone, our magazines are all current and new because "I'm" the magazine person and I hate (!!) outdated magazines in a waiting room! The doctor I wait for doesn't like it when patients have to wait, so typically we're on time. But I have an "regular doctor appointment" in a couple of weeks too and trust me, I'm the first patient and I KNOW he'll be behind and I'll be reading the paper dated six months ago! :-)

barefootheart said...

I went to my last doctor for 25 years. He delivered all my kids and we all loved him. He retired a few years ago and I now have a young woman. She is very nice, and seems knowledgeable and efficient and doesn't keep me waiting, but boy, I miss my old doctor who knew me and my family so well.

Tina said...

But that is such a legit rant Louise, because it is so true. I even remember housecalls from our family doctor when I was a kid, and yes nowadays the GPs don't do nothing themselves anymore, you are so right...it is so hard to even find an understanding or compassionate doctor anymore. I really only go to the doc if I have no other choice and it's bad...otherwise I fix it myself somehow. Great Rant.