Do you mostly like or dislike your health providers (doctors, physician's assistants, and their nurses and assistants)? Mostly, I would say dislike. They think that even fairly intelligent people aren't intelligent. They don't seem to be very empathetic. I try to take the best possible care of myself to see them as little as possible. I've got a list of a few great rude, nosy, and outright stupid comments I've heard. As for sexual health, there is quite a bit available as to safer sex practices and how to avoid risk and evaluate symptoms, but when a person has something going on, they need to go get checked out and not self-diagnose. But we all tend to self-diagnose because we just do.
I don't like my local doctors (GP); one is a loud-mouth that laughs at everything and the other is an incompetent fool (he tried to get me to put a swab in my own ear to get a sample of a nasty infection I had). The nurses there are lovely though. While I was working in a sexual health centre, there were a couple of nurses that I thought were amazing. They were great at their jobs and down-to-earth. Human. The rest of the nurses were a disgrace to existence, let alone health professionals. The health care assistants thought they were above their station. The support workers were amazing and we got on like a house on fire.
I get along great with my doctor and my physician's assistant. Been going to the same practice for more than 10yrs now. Both my partner and I go to the same practice. I'm not sure if the doctor knows we're a couple, but the PA definitely does. Although I've not asked, I kind of get the sense that she's 'one of us'. Todd
I get on with my primary doctor and nurses there well. Very pleasant and easy going. Same with the front desk staff. Same goes for my dentist and psychiatrist. MY ob-gyn on the other hand, doesn't seem quite with it, but is overall friendly.
This just in: My primary care physician is ok. He's good at what he does, which is internal medicine. I saw him about 3 weeks ago. It's always a routine visit and the bill comes out the same. I had been irked because, when someone lives in privilege like a doctor, they sometimes forget others don't. Sorry. He's nice but has said things that indicate his disconnect with others, and I'm talking socioeconomically. He knows I've had issues with depression, and we briefly chat about that, but this last time I wanted to know of a couple of harrowing experiences so he wouldn't be so cavalier about it in the future. I spoke very quickly and for about 15 minutes. In short, the visit wasn't significantly longer than the other ones where he's talking about cholesterol or something. I opened the statement today. He billed it out as a different level of service, to the tune of another $80. So, a 5 to 7 minute differential in overall time costs $80? That caused me to be depressed in and of itself.
I don't have a doctor currently. I'm kind of weird towards them because I've had some that have really screwed me up in the past. I really hate going to the doctor because it seems like every time I do, they want to do a blood test, and I'm deathly afraid of needles. I mean, every damn time. I'm going to school to be a holistic wellness practitioner, too, so I'm very cautious about traditional medicine.
Just so you'll understand why... In the US, the insurance companies make us justify our billing by certain criteria- not by just the length of time of the visit but more by what we do during the visit. This leads to a "level charge" and we're paid according to that level. So, if we spend time doing certain tests and taking an extended history and physical to find a diagnosis, it may change the level charge from level 3 to level 4. Most insurance companies pay about $50 more for a level 4 visit compared to a level 3 visit. It's illogical but if we spend 30 minutes with one patient, it would earn the practice about an additional $50 versus seeing a second patient for 15 minutes which would earn the practice about $80. It sucks but that is what the insurance companies require us to do.
Thanks for the explanation. I'm still in my deductible (fully on me $) part of the annual premium, so it stung.
