A doctor once introduced himself with "How bad is it, are you filling out the paperwork to buy a gun?" This is after 3 years of pain and a previous diagnosis of "I don't know what's wrong with you but you aren't dying, don't come back." I'd like to think I'd remove the offending limb before killing myself. This is also one of the reasons why I refuse to give a 1-10 scale on pain. 10 is I'm already dead I guess? I think doctors struggle with things that they can't explain or treat so they compensate by being rude.
If I've got a broken bone or a wound big enough to need stitches and they are much nicer to me. I've been lucky in the Canadian system to get quick treatment for these sorts of things. For a fracture in my hand they got me in from the ER to the specialist in 2 days. Hands are pretty fussy and they want them healing well and begin movement as quickly as possible because they tend to lock up more than other joints. The tendons sort of get stuck. Al in all though with that specific fracture the doctor could have emailed me the instructions I needed. Your case was different and should have been dealt with differently and quickly.
A coworker is sitting beside me with a cast on his wrist. Broke on Sunday, follow up with the specialist in 3 days and he'll have the surgery in the next 5. They are going to phone him the day before the surgery so he doesn't know when it will actually happen. It's a way of optimizing the surgery time while having the doctor, staff an room available for emergencies that come in unplanned.
I'm not really keen on the double system as you described it. The private option draws doctors and nurses away from the public system creating a bigger back log in that system. I'm not aware of a similar system in Canada. I don't think I could get secondary insurance in Canada that would cover things that are already covered by the public system. Hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery tend to have a long wait and you can pay for it yourself to jump the line but you have to travel to a different province or country to do it. It's out of your own pocket and the hip and knee can be very expensive, Spain is one of the spots people will go to but again I'm not aware of insurance that would cover it unless I had an accident or medical emergency while traveling.
Pain is a weird thing and I contend unmeasurable. The best pain med I've had was traction when I broke a femur. When I had the hand fracture I also had several broken ribs and I didn't take anything for several days, turned away the intravenous option at hospital and only at a doctor's insistence did I take a mild pain med so I would breath deeper for the partial collapse of the lung. They didn't really help but did make me constipated. I had a tooth infection and that was worse, every two hours rotating over the counter meds to the max recommended and thinking this is how people become addicts. Getting the tooth pulled seemed to bother the dentist more than me, other people might find the exact opposite.
Sorry for the long reply it's a topic of interest for me. I do like to see how these things are managed elsewhere.
Wow Chris, thank you so much for sharing all of this!
Yes it is an interesting topic and I agree regarding the pain scale but since I also worked in the medical profession for 10+ years I understand we’re limited. My pain level of a 4 is most people’s 10 but that doesn’t mean their 10 (my 4) is less painful to them. For them, it registers as a 10. If that makes sense. And that’s what we have to go on.
My hand surgeon here worked in the public sector for 30 years until recently and said he left for other reasons, not monetary. Doctors don’t earn as much here regardless.
When I was an acupuncturist, I chose to work with low income people. I didn’t earn as much, but that was my choice. I don’t know what private vs. public doctors earn here. Thus, I can’t really comment on that.
A doctor once introduced himself with "How bad is it, are you filling out the paperwork to buy a gun?" This is after 3 years of pain and a previous diagnosis of "I don't know what's wrong with you but you aren't dying, don't come back." I'd like to think I'd remove the offending limb before killing myself. This is also one of the reasons why I refuse to give a 1-10 scale on pain. 10 is I'm already dead I guess? I think doctors struggle with things that they can't explain or treat so they compensate by being rude.
If I've got a broken bone or a wound big enough to need stitches and they are much nicer to me. I've been lucky in the Canadian system to get quick treatment for these sorts of things. For a fracture in my hand they got me in from the ER to the specialist in 2 days. Hands are pretty fussy and they want them healing well and begin movement as quickly as possible because they tend to lock up more than other joints. The tendons sort of get stuck. Al in all though with that specific fracture the doctor could have emailed me the instructions I needed. Your case was different and should have been dealt with differently and quickly.
A coworker is sitting beside me with a cast on his wrist. Broke on Sunday, follow up with the specialist in 3 days and he'll have the surgery in the next 5. They are going to phone him the day before the surgery so he doesn't know when it will actually happen. It's a way of optimizing the surgery time while having the doctor, staff an room available for emergencies that come in unplanned.
I'm not really keen on the double system as you described it. The private option draws doctors and nurses away from the public system creating a bigger back log in that system. I'm not aware of a similar system in Canada. I don't think I could get secondary insurance in Canada that would cover things that are already covered by the public system. Hip and knee replacements and cataract surgery tend to have a long wait and you can pay for it yourself to jump the line but you have to travel to a different province or country to do it. It's out of your own pocket and the hip and knee can be very expensive, Spain is one of the spots people will go to but again I'm not aware of insurance that would cover it unless I had an accident or medical emergency while traveling.
Pain is a weird thing and I contend unmeasurable. The best pain med I've had was traction when I broke a femur. When I had the hand fracture I also had several broken ribs and I didn't take anything for several days, turned away the intravenous option at hospital and only at a doctor's insistence did I take a mild pain med so I would breath deeper for the partial collapse of the lung. They didn't really help but did make me constipated. I had a tooth infection and that was worse, every two hours rotating over the counter meds to the max recommended and thinking this is how people become addicts. Getting the tooth pulled seemed to bother the dentist more than me, other people might find the exact opposite.
Sorry for the long reply it's a topic of interest for me. I do like to see how these things are managed elsewhere.
Wow Chris, thank you so much for sharing all of this!
Yes it is an interesting topic and I agree regarding the pain scale but since I also worked in the medical profession for 10+ years I understand we’re limited. My pain level of a 4 is most people’s 10 but that doesn’t mean their 10 (my 4) is less painful to them. For them, it registers as a 10. If that makes sense. And that’s what we have to go on.
My hand surgeon here worked in the public sector for 30 years until recently and said he left for other reasons, not monetary. Doctors don’t earn as much here regardless.
When I was an acupuncturist, I chose to work with low income people. I didn’t earn as much, but that was my choice. I don’t know what private vs. public doctors earn here. Thus, I can’t really comment on that.
Thank you again for sharing!!!