Medical PSA

[Steve-arino]

I've been pretty sick since early February Flu like symptoms. I got the flu vaccine last September.

Coincidentally, I mentioned on another thread that my Cardiologist found a 4mm Crushed Glass Nodule on one of my lungs a couple of weeks ago (on a completely unrelated heart scan). He saved my life 15 years ago, he's a fine doctor.

Both my GP and the cardiologist suggested I come back in a year for follow up lung scan. My GP prescribed symptom related meds.

I took it upon myself to find, and make an appt. with a well reviewed pulmonologist. First words out of his mouth, after looking at the scan were "you don't have lung cancer". Whew.

I'm still sick, and he did tests and determined that my childhood asthma is now severe, and I need to start with a steroid based inhaler. I can live with that! Yay! Seems to have been kicked off by a cleaning agent in a hotel that I stayed at in early February. I can pin point almost to the hour when I developed symptoms.

Point is that there can be the best medical care but if you don't trust your intuition and leverage the system you might be left in the dust, metaphorically speaking of course

Don't be shy. Have trust in your doctors, but trust your intuition as well. This getting old stuff is really not easy. I'm 68.

Back to playing my guitar. I've had lots of false starts learning guitar during my life, but since I retired 8 years ago, I'm good for an hour or two almost every day. I simply love it. Between playing my guitar and doing 10,000 steps a day I seem to be relatively sane. For now.

[J Patrick]

Great advice….as the tsunami of health care needs overwhelms doctors and hospitals personal vigilance and self advocacy are more important than ever….

[Steve-arino]

Originally Posted by J Patrick

Great advice….as the tsunami of health care needs overwhelms doctors and hospitals personal vigilance and self advocacy are more important than ever….

Thanks for saying that. I considered whether to post my thoughts on the topic but I'm glad I did.

I didn't realize until a few weeks ago that many medical professionals get paid in increments of an hour; as soon as I'm out the door, the next patient is in :-).

[redcrow]

Please remember that in this country, health care is a for profit industry whose primary revenue source is illness. I'm not saying health care providers don't have altruistic motives. The best ones do. Never the less, the care you can get is driven by economics, not by medical need.

[The Watchman]

Most of the doctors around here sold their practices to corporations and are managed as contract employees. A doctor we used told us he was timed and would get dinged if he spent more than 15 minutes per patient visit. And none of that answering questions unrelated to the visit, as it had to be billable to the insurance companies.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by J Patrick

Great advice….as the tsunami of health care needs overwhelms doctors and hospitals personal vigilance and self advocacy are more important than ever….

There ya go, that's it. Doctors will tell you the same. Gotta be in your own corner and drive your own health care plan.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by redcrow

Please remember that in this country, health care is a for profit industry whose primary revenue source is illness. I'm not saying health care providers don't have altruistic motives. The best ones do. Never the less, the care you can get is driven by economics, not by medical need.

TLDR: doctors dont create a for-profit culture in American medicine. Lawyers and insurance agents do.






I have two doctors and two nurses and a nurse practitioner in my immediate family. I was high up in medical device industry.

I have never met any doctor who isn't in it for the medicine.

Our doctors are amazing: their practice was exclusively through a very large HMO. The HMO started dictating how to practice medicine and how much time doctors could spend with patients and how many patients they must see every day.

The entire staff walked out on a Friday and opened up two new practices across town on Monday (where they've been for 20 years). Thast HMO pushed to hard and learned a lesson by being put out of business across the entire state by this.

Doctors care about medicine. Two factors are the culprits:

1) litigiousness : unintended consequence of allowing lawyers to keep 1/3rd of injury/malpractice lawsuits created the massive ambulance chasing industry

2) insurance companies : viewing medicine as a for-profit business and maximizing profit of shareholders

[Steve-arino]

Many reasons why the medical profession has changed so dramatically. Not my purpose for starting this thread, and I'd rather not see it go down that road. I can complain too, and unfortunately I find complaining easier to do as I get older. I don't like that about myself and I actively fight the urge to complain.

Leverage the system as it is. You're not going to change it. I agree, doctors care about medicine.

I'm concerned that as I age, it will become more challenging to think things through. I seem to be able to do this today, what about when I'm 85 (if I live that long :-).

I don't have any good answers. That's more the spirit of my original post. Thoughts?

[eyesore]

Originally Posted by Steve-arino

I've been pretty sick since early February Flu like symptoms. I got the flu vaccine last September.

Coincidentally, I mentioned on another thread that my Cardiologist found a 4mm Crushed Glass Nodule on one of my lungs a couple of weeks ago (on a completely unrelated heart scan). He saved my life 15 years ago, he's a fine doctor.

Both my GP and the cardiologist suggested I come back in a year for follow up lung scan. My GP prescribed symptom related meds.

I took it upon myself to find, and make an appt. with a well reviewed pulmonologist. First words out of his mouth, after looking at the scan were "you don't have lung cancer". Whew.

I'm still sick, and he did tests and determined that my childhood asthma is now severe, and I need to start with a steroid based inhaler. I can live with that! Yay! Seems to have been kicked off by a cleaning agent in a hotel that I stayed at in early February. I can pin point almost to the hour when I developed symptoms.

Point is that there can be the best medical care but if you don't trust your intuition and leverage the system you might be left in the dust, metaphorically speaking of course

Don't be shy. Have trust in your doctors, but trust your intuition as well. This getting old stuff is really not easy. I'm 68.

Back to playing my guitar. I've had lots of false starts learning guitar during my life, but since I retired 8 years ago, I'm good for an hour or two almost every day. I simply love it. Between playing my guitar and doing 10,000 steps a day I seem to be relatively sane. For now.

Hi . I 'm glad you are healthy ! I too go to doctors all the time for age related stuff. We all do! Hang in there and listen to your Docs but do your own research too.

[Steve-arino]

Thank you so much eyesore!

When I was 18, I went to college at the University of Buffalo, and lived on a "philosophical" commune near campus (Oakstone Farm). I don't remember a lot from those days but I do remember one sentence from one conversation with Jonathan Ketchum. It was his gigantic house that we all lived in. He was a raving lunatic, but a very smart man. He said "Life is Hard".

I was 18 at the time, and I expected to hear something like it gets easier when you get older and have more context or, something you know, positive, to set my young mind at ease.

I didn't.

[KenL]

I'm lucky in that I've got a "concierge" doctor in my little town. He got tired of being told how to practice medicine by the insurance company, and started this type of practice.

His number of patients is limited to how many he and his staff can handle, and we all pay a certain monthly amount based solely on our ages. For me, at age 68, it's $120/mo.

Not cheap, but when I make an appointment it is for one hour. Less time if it's something quick and specific, like having stitches removed or blood drawn for a test. I can go see him every day if I want/need to, no extra charge.

He has managed to get my BP under control, something my previous doctor never could do, and now we're working on my blood sugar.

I have no doubt that he's added several years to my life expectancy, assuming I don't get hit by a bus or something.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by Steve-arino

Thank you so much eyesore!

When I was 18, I went to college at the University of Buffalo, and lived on a "philosophical" commune near campus (Oakstone Farm). ....

You must have been just a few years before me. I never heard of that place and Googled it - looks like it closed down in '79 - a few years before I started at U.B.

I live real close to the North Campus

[Steve-arino]

[QUOTE=fazool;7435347]

Originally Posted by Steve-arino

Thank you so much eyesore!

When I was 18, I went to college at the University of Buffalo, and lived on a "philosophical" commune near campus (Oakstone Farm). ..../QUOTE]

You must have been just a few years before me. I never heard of that place and Googled it - looks like it closed down in '79 - a few years before I started at U.B.

I live real close to the North Campus

Yes, I was there in '77. I remember we had a "library", we had a lake behind the house, and Jonathan had a world class stereo system with giant Klipschorn speakers tucked into the library corners. There were maybe 10 or 12 of us living there at that time, all of us students or professors at UB. Jonathan was already having money problems and Oakstone's demise seemed evident. He was a severe alcoholic and that drove people away.

Do you remember the snow storm of '77?

KenL - that's the kind of thing that I'm thinking. Concierge medicine. I'm going to look into that. Probably outside of my "budget" for now but worth a look, that's for sure. Thanks for that info.

[fazool]

Originally Posted by Steve-arino

...
Do you remember the snow storm of '77? .....

Oh, God yes! that's what put us on the winter map worldwide. I remember it vividly.

[guitargabor]

Originally Posted by fazool

TLDR: doctors dont create a for-profit culture in American medicine. Lawyers and insurance agents do.






I have two doctors and two nurses and a nurse practitioner in my immediate family. I was high up in medical device industry.

I have never met any doctor who isn't in it for the medicine.

Our doctors are amazing: their practice was exclusively through a very large HMO. The HMO started dictating how to practice medicine and how much time doctors could spend with patients and how many patients they must see every day.

The entire staff walked out on a Friday and opened up two new practices across town on Monday (where they've been for 20 years). Thast HMO pushed to hard and learned a lesson by being put out of business across the entire state by this.

Doctors care about medicine. Two factors are the culprits:

1) litigiousness : unintended consequence of allowing lawyers to keep 1/3rd of injury/malpractice lawsuits created the massive ambulance chasing industry

2) insurance companies : viewing medicine as a for-profit business and maximizing profit of shareholders

As a retired physician Fazool, I very much appreciate your candid and very accurate comments.