by Jessica Loftus and Jack Murray
In 2017, when Congress was attempting to fix the problems with our national health care system, I was attempting to fix some medical problems of my own. During my frustrating encounters with 11 different doctors, I received an enlightening education on the myriad flaws with the current state of health care in the United States.
The Runaround
The odyssey of fun with any doctor begins with the process of scheduling an appointment. Clerical staff cuts resulting force me to wade through an elaborate phone tree. Since it never has the option I want, I press zero, hoping to reach a human voice. Trying to ignore the irritating hold muzak, I eagerly await the possibility of actually speaking to a real person. Unfortunately, 10 minutes pass before I finally hear a recorded message that someone will call me back. Invariably, that someone calls me back when I am in the bathroom, causing me to miss the call by seconds. Quickly, I dial the phone number left on my voice-mail message only to encounter the same phone tree again. Too tired to fight with a long, recorded message, I opt to try again the next day.
The next day’s efforts are a bit more fruitful because I decide to carry my phone with me everywhere I go, including the bathroom. Success! A human voice informs me that they must review my insurance plan before I can schedule an appointment. Thankfully, I have employer-sponsored insurance, so I hear back within a few hours, right before my next trip to the bathroom. The first available appointment is four weeks away at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Of course, I need to arrive 15 minutes early to complete an entire ream of paperwork.
The Doctor’s Office
Upon arriving at the doctor’s office a half hour early, I ponder how anyone could finish all this paper work in 15 minutes. As I hand the completed forms to the overworked receptionist, I observe a sign that reads, “If you are over 15 minutes late for your appointment, you must reschedule a new appointment on a different day.” Wishfully, I interpret this to mean the doctor will see me within 15 minutes, but instead I wait nearly an hour until the nurse calls my name, leads me into an exam room, and asks me to change into a hospital gown that leaves my backside almost entirely exposed.
That’s when the real wait begins. And so do the worries. How am I going the pay for this? Will this hurt? What tests will the doctor order? Will I get out of here in time for my next doctor appointment?
After another hour, the doctor finally knocks, opens the door, and coldly asks “What are you coming in for?” After a long pause, I reply “Hmmm I don’t really know why I am here. My primary doctor referred me. I think it has something to do with some recent lab work.”
The doctor writes notes about my symptoms as he occasionally insults my lack of medical knowledge. He doesn’t seem too clear about why I am even there to begin with. The appointment concludes with the doctor ordering more lab tests at the local hospital where his orders will be faxed.
More Runaround
The next day, I call the scheduling office at the hospital only to hear another voicemail message saying they will call back within 24 hours. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. After I leave one or two more messages, they finally call back. However, they inform me that they don’t have the doctor’s order on file to do the lab tests. Then they recommend that I call the doctor’s office to ask them to re-fax the order.
Once again, I’m wading through another phone tree, only to get a voice-mail message stating someone will call back. Now I have gotten a little smarter; I recently installed a cordless phone in the bathroom just in case, along with a pad of paper and a pencil. Remember, I told you previously I’m dealing with 11 doctors here.
The doctor’s office finally calls me back and after arguing that I don’t need an order for those particular tests, I insist the hospital says I do, so they reluctantly agree to fax them. The next morning at 8 a.m., it’s back to the labs. This time I have the ordering doctor’s phone number just in case. Miracles do happen – sometimes things go as planned. The order was received, and the lab tests were done quickly and efficiently.
The Lab Results
Weeks later, it’s back to the doctor’s exam room again. After another interminable wait, the nurse informs me that a physician’s assistant will see me instead of the doctor. When the PA enters the room, he immediately reproaches me for not getting the doctor’s ordered lab work done. After assuring him that I did, he leaves the exam room and returns 15 minutes later – with my lab results. Then he asks me the same questions I answered in the volumes of paper work I completed during the last appointment and informs me that the doctor will be in to see me soon.
Twenty minutes later, the doctor walks in and reluctantly admits that he is not too sure what’s wrong with me; he offers a few possible diagnoses, one of which is terminal with no treatment options. Then, he prescribes a medication to add to the several I am already taking. After another trip to the pharmacy and a whopping charge for the prescription, which includes a long list of awful side effects, I feel quite unsettled because I have no idea why I’m on this medication in the first place.
Fruitless Efforts
After months of doctor exams, lab tests and follow-up appointments, here are the typical fruits of my efforts.
- The doctor does nothing.
- The doctor prescribes a medication that does nothing.
- The doctor refers me to another specialist who does nothing.
- Worse than nothing, the doctor prescribes medicine with horrible side effects.
Frustrated with the lack of results from seeing conventional doctors, my wife talked me into seeing a counselor. She told me what 11 doctors couldn’t tell me – I have too much stress! No doubt, a heap load of this stress was the direct result of all the runaround with the doctors.
So, I made a few dietary changes, started an exercise program and learned some techniques to reduce my stress. A few months later, I went off all my meds and have felt great ever since.
What can be done?
Here are critical questions related to our national health care system. Why didn’t any of my 11 medical doctors tell me my problems were the result of stress to begin with? Why did it take six months of doctor appointments, dozens of lab tests, hundreds of dollars of worthless prescriptions, thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket expenses, tens of thousands of dollars in insurance-paid expenses, not to mention all the hours spent wading through phone trees and waiting in doctors’ offices?
My own medical misadventures show the need for a complete overhaul of the health-care system. Doctors, struggling to comply with its mandates, must expend precious time and scarce resources to meet its burdensome regulations, often resulting in a reduction of practice revenues. To make up for this lost time and income, many must overly rely upon less competent physicians’ assistants (PAs) to treat patients and see more patients than is ethically manageable. Since many doctors also cut part-time clerical staff hours, medical practices have become increasingly reliant on automated systems, through which more patients fall through the cracks.
In sum, every one is stressed! Patients, doctors, doctors’ staff members and insurance company workers are suffering the effects of stress from an inefficient national healthcare system. Poor healthcare is bad for medical business and bad for the health and well-being of people needing medical care nationwide. Reform is needed to restore balance to the system, freeing doctors and patients alike from the restraints it places them as providers and consumers in the medical marketplace.
Easy Ways to Ease Stress 