I'd rather live with the pain than see my doctor

[Tobra]

Originally posted by Moses
Excellent advice. Look, medicine is a service industry. If you are not getting the service you are paying for, move on.

If however, you have some suck-butt HMO and think you should be treated like royalty for your $5 co-pay, grab a number then sit your ass down and wait.

It always cracks me up when people say, "My insurance pays you a lot of money to take care of me" and they have HMO coverage. Or they say, "The Doctor at Kaiser said they could not do anything about it" suck -butt HMO is sort of redundant, don't you think?


Rest it, ice it(15 minutes at a time, every hour if you can stand it), wear a brace, take NSAID with food, unless you have an ulcer or something(like ibuprofen 800mg 3x day, or alleve 440 mg 2x day)

Small problems are easier to deal with than big ones, which is why if one of my diabetics calls me Friday at 1800 saying, "This looks sort of funny" I tell them meet me at the office so I can look at it. It is such a PITA if I get a call from some ER Doc with the old, "I have a patient of yours here I think you may need to take a look at, real soon."

[M.D. Holloway]

Originally posted by Tobra
... It is such a PITA if I get a call from some ER Doc with the old, "I have a patient of yours here I think you may need to take a look at, real soon."

Messes up your Golf games does it?

[Moses]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
Messes up your Golf games does it?

I think he's making the point that he would prefer to work late and address a potentially urgent problem himself, rather than get a call late at night from an E.R. doc about it.

If I have operated on a patient and I get a call a week later; "Doc, this wound doesn't look so good..." I'm gonna see that patient right now.

Accountability creates availability.

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by Moses
Excellent advice. Look, medicine is a service industry. If you are not getting the service you are paying for, move on.

If however, you have some suck-butt HMO and think you should be treated like royalty for your $5 co-pay, grab a number then sit your ass down and wait.

$5 co-pay? I was self employed,remember? The only health insurance I can afford reasonably is one that is $5,000 deductable...the first $5k spent on medical care is out of my pocket, each year. As far as sick-butt HMO? Try to get care within 30 miles of here that isn't controlled by the same medical conglomerate. Big cities, sure...I imagine better care is available to those who can afford it. But Moses, don't break a leg in this small town...you'd find yourself sent to the same HMO docs I would. There is no alternative.

[scottmandue]

I'd rather live with my doctor than see pain!

[dean]

My girl doc was great. (she just quit). She would spend an hr with me at my annual exam and she had small fingers. Not hugh elbows like guys do

She would answer all my questions.

My HMO costs the wifey and I $5k per year.

[Moses]

Originally posted by dean
My girl doc was great. (she just quit). She would spend an hr with me at my annual exam...

She quit? ...No *****.

Office overhead runs between $20K - $30K/month. Office is open 40 hours/week.

She needs to generate between $113 and $170/hour BEFORE she gets any $ to take home.

Insurance typically pays $45 (HMO) to $110 (PPO) for your annual visit.

You do the math, clearly she didn't.

[dean]

Well she took a job as a hospital Doc or something. She quit her private practice. I have to find another PCP. And it will be a woman. I have several to choose from.

[Moses]

Don't count on an hour!