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Participant[quote=sdrealtor]
My friend hasnt worked in the US for over a decade and his perspective is not to think our model is best. He is in the trenches and sees what goes on. Hope you enjoyed the Thai information also. He said they do a number of things very well there. The biggest difference he emphasized about US physicians over the Thai (and many other countries) physicians is the ability to think outside the box to find solutions when things arent exactly as they were taught. In Thailand if they dont see something fitting exactly in their frame of reference they refer you to someone else and this can go on and on. His point was that the concept of American ingenuity is very real.[/quote]This might add some context. Where I went to school medical schools were not attracting the top talent. The most prestigious were electrical engineering and mathematics and almost all of the top achievers were aiming at those. Mechanical and civil engineering and medical schools were seen as kind of a second tier schools for hard working students who lacked the creativity and problem solving skills of the top performers.
Law, economics and political sciences were the bottom. You go there if you fail at everything else.
Consequently, most of the physicians were not outside the box thinkers. Here you get more of that, but they float up and unless you are a professional athlete or have access to top hospitals you won’t be treated by a top performer.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]
My friend hasnt worked in the US for over a decade and his perspective is not to think our model is best. He is in the trenches and sees what goes on. Hope you enjoyed the Thai information also. He said they do a number of things very well there. The biggest difference he emphasized about US physicians over the Thai (and many other countries) physicians is the ability to think outside the box to find solutions when things arent exactly as they were taught. In Thailand if they dont see something fitting exactly in their frame of reference they refer you to someone else and this can go on and on. His point was that the concept of American ingenuity is very real.[/quote]This might add some context. Where I went to school medical schools were not attracting the top talent. The most prestigious were electrical engineering and mathematics and almost all of the top achievers were aiming at those. Mechanical and civil engineering and medical schools were seen as kind of a second tier schools for hard working students who lacked the creativity and problem solving skills of the top performers.
Law, economics and political sciences were the bottom. You go there if you fail at everything else.
Consequently, most of the physicians were not outside the box thinkers. Here you get more of that, but they float up and unless you are a professional athlete or have access to top hospitals you won’t be treated by a top performer.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]
My friend hasnt worked in the US for over a decade and his perspective is not to think our model is best. He is in the trenches and sees what goes on. Hope you enjoyed the Thai information also. He said they do a number of things very well there. The biggest difference he emphasized about US physicians over the Thai (and many other countries) physicians is the ability to think outside the box to find solutions when things arent exactly as they were taught. In Thailand if they dont see something fitting exactly in their frame of reference they refer you to someone else and this can go on and on. His point was that the concept of American ingenuity is very real.[/quote]This might add some context. Where I went to school medical schools were not attracting the top talent. The most prestigious were electrical engineering and mathematics and almost all of the top achievers were aiming at those. Mechanical and civil engineering and medical schools were seen as kind of a second tier schools for hard working students who lacked the creativity and problem solving skills of the top performers.
Law, economics and political sciences were the bottom. You go there if you fail at everything else.
Consequently, most of the physicians were not outside the box thinkers. Here you get more of that, but they float up and unless you are a professional athlete or have access to top hospitals you won’t be treated by a top performer.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]
My friend hasnt worked in the US for over a decade and his perspective is not to think our model is best. He is in the trenches and sees what goes on. Hope you enjoyed the Thai information also. He said they do a number of things very well there. The biggest difference he emphasized about US physicians over the Thai (and many other countries) physicians is the ability to think outside the box to find solutions when things arent exactly as they were taught. In Thailand if they dont see something fitting exactly in their frame of reference they refer you to someone else and this can go on and on. His point was that the concept of American ingenuity is very real.[/quote]This might add some context. Where I went to school medical schools were not attracting the top talent. The most prestigious were electrical engineering and mathematics and almost all of the top achievers were aiming at those. Mechanical and civil engineering and medical schools were seen as kind of a second tier schools for hard working students who lacked the creativity and problem solving skills of the top performers.
Law, economics and political sciences were the bottom. You go there if you fail at everything else.
Consequently, most of the physicians were not outside the box thinkers. Here you get more of that, but they float up and unless you are a professional athlete or have access to top hospitals you won’t be treated by a top performer.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Exactly. Our system is not perfect nor is any system. If your dad’s case turned out to be unusual or complex he may have had a different experience. You dont get to pick what is wrong with you, it just happens and you have to deal with.[/quote]
Are you getting the most for the money? If your friend is saying that some of the hospitals in the US offer treatments that can be received in very few other countries, if any – I agree.
But I’ve also had disappointing experiences with the local health care system.
My wife’s condition was misdiagnosed by two different doctors as gas-related. It turned out she had a gallon of liquid in a benign cyst. Two days later she had a surgery, but it took 6 months and several “it’s just gas, just fart more” to get there.
It took me less than ten minutes to get to the urgent care when I injured my foot. It took another 30 minutes to get to triage. And another three hours to get to the x-ray and see a doctor. Now I’m being told that my recovery would be more complete and speedier if I had put some ice on my foot in the first few hours. And I was in the freaking urgent care facility.
Similarly, my son had to wait nearly four hours to get his cut glued when he cut his forehead. The scar would presumably be less visible had he receive treatment sooner.
I was forced to deal with health professionals in three different European countries and the US. In no other country was I told to come in two weeks to see my primary care physician. Based on my experience the US doctors are either incompetent or overworked while being less accessible and 5-10 times more expensive.
Again, I am comparing to countries like Hungary or Slovenia, not Iraq or Indonesia.
EDIT: The facilities in the US are generally equipped with better looking and more expensive equipment.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Exactly. Our system is not perfect nor is any system. If your dad’s case turned out to be unusual or complex he may have had a different experience. You dont get to pick what is wrong with you, it just happens and you have to deal with.[/quote]
Are you getting the most for the money? If your friend is saying that some of the hospitals in the US offer treatments that can be received in very few other countries, if any – I agree.
But I’ve also had disappointing experiences with the local health care system.
My wife’s condition was misdiagnosed by two different doctors as gas-related. It turned out she had a gallon of liquid in a benign cyst. Two days later she had a surgery, but it took 6 months and several “it’s just gas, just fart more” to get there.
It took me less than ten minutes to get to the urgent care when I injured my foot. It took another 30 minutes to get to triage. And another three hours to get to the x-ray and see a doctor. Now I’m being told that my recovery would be more complete and speedier if I had put some ice on my foot in the first few hours. And I was in the freaking urgent care facility.
Similarly, my son had to wait nearly four hours to get his cut glued when he cut his forehead. The scar would presumably be less visible had he receive treatment sooner.
I was forced to deal with health professionals in three different European countries and the US. In no other country was I told to come in two weeks to see my primary care physician. Based on my experience the US doctors are either incompetent or overworked while being less accessible and 5-10 times more expensive.
Again, I am comparing to countries like Hungary or Slovenia, not Iraq or Indonesia.
EDIT: The facilities in the US are generally equipped with better looking and more expensive equipment.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Exactly. Our system is not perfect nor is any system. If your dad’s case turned out to be unusual or complex he may have had a different experience. You dont get to pick what is wrong with you, it just happens and you have to deal with.[/quote]
Are you getting the most for the money? If your friend is saying that some of the hospitals in the US offer treatments that can be received in very few other countries, if any – I agree.
But I’ve also had disappointing experiences with the local health care system.
My wife’s condition was misdiagnosed by two different doctors as gas-related. It turned out she had a gallon of liquid in a benign cyst. Two days later she had a surgery, but it took 6 months and several “it’s just gas, just fart more” to get there.
It took me less than ten minutes to get to the urgent care when I injured my foot. It took another 30 minutes to get to triage. And another three hours to get to the x-ray and see a doctor. Now I’m being told that my recovery would be more complete and speedier if I had put some ice on my foot in the first few hours. And I was in the freaking urgent care facility.
Similarly, my son had to wait nearly four hours to get his cut glued when he cut his forehead. The scar would presumably be less visible had he receive treatment sooner.
I was forced to deal with health professionals in three different European countries and the US. In no other country was I told to come in two weeks to see my primary care physician. Based on my experience the US doctors are either incompetent or overworked while being less accessible and 5-10 times more expensive.
Again, I am comparing to countries like Hungary or Slovenia, not Iraq or Indonesia.
EDIT: The facilities in the US are generally equipped with better looking and more expensive equipment.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Exactly. Our system is not perfect nor is any system. If your dad’s case turned out to be unusual or complex he may have had a different experience. You dont get to pick what is wrong with you, it just happens and you have to deal with.[/quote]
Are you getting the most for the money? If your friend is saying that some of the hospitals in the US offer treatments that can be received in very few other countries, if any – I agree.
But I’ve also had disappointing experiences with the local health care system.
My wife’s condition was misdiagnosed by two different doctors as gas-related. It turned out she had a gallon of liquid in a benign cyst. Two days later she had a surgery, but it took 6 months and several “it’s just gas, just fart more” to get there.
It took me less than ten minutes to get to the urgent care when I injured my foot. It took another 30 minutes to get to triage. And another three hours to get to the x-ray and see a doctor. Now I’m being told that my recovery would be more complete and speedier if I had put some ice on my foot in the first few hours. And I was in the freaking urgent care facility.
Similarly, my son had to wait nearly four hours to get his cut glued when he cut his forehead. The scar would presumably be less visible had he receive treatment sooner.
I was forced to deal with health professionals in three different European countries and the US. In no other country was I told to come in two weeks to see my primary care physician. Based on my experience the US doctors are either incompetent or overworked while being less accessible and 5-10 times more expensive.
Again, I am comparing to countries like Hungary or Slovenia, not Iraq or Indonesia.
EDIT: The facilities in the US are generally equipped with better looking and more expensive equipment.
Participant[quote=sdrealtor]Exactly. Our system is not perfect nor is any system. If your dad’s case turned out to be unusual or complex he may have had a different experience. You dont get to pick what is wrong with you, it just happens and you have to deal with.[/quote]
Are you getting the most for the money? If your friend is saying that some of the hospitals in the US offer treatments that can be received in very few other countries, if any – I agree.
But I’ve also had disappointing experiences with the local health care system.
My wife’s condition was misdiagnosed by two different doctors as gas-related. It turned out she had a gallon of liquid in a benign cyst. Two days later she had a surgery, but it took 6 months and several “it’s just gas, just fart more” to get there.
It took me less than ten minutes to get to the urgent care when I injured my foot. It took another 30 minutes to get to triage. And another three hours to get to the x-ray and see a doctor. Now I’m being told that my recovery would be more complete and speedier if I had put some ice on my foot in the first few hours. And I was in the freaking urgent care facility.
Similarly, my son had to wait nearly four hours to get his cut glued when he cut his forehead. The scar would presumably be less visible had he receive treatment sooner.
I was forced to deal with health professionals in three different European countries and the US. In no other country was I told to come in two weeks to see my primary care physician. Based on my experience the US doctors are either incompetent or overworked while being less accessible and 5-10 times more expensive.
Again, I am comparing to countries like Hungary or Slovenia, not Iraq or Indonesia.
EDIT: The facilities in the US are generally equipped with better looking and more expensive equipment.
ParticipantWhat about countries not as poor as Indonesia?
Personal anecdote – my dad lives in a developing European county. Not Indonesia, but not Germany either. He had a couple of stents inserted in a non-emergency procedure. He went from his personal physician to cardiologist to surgery in less than four weeks. The total cost was close to $5K. He had to cover 10% of the total cost ($500) since he’s under 65 and it was not an emergency.
Had he needed an emergency brain surgery he would have died, but as an average person with a fairly common need he received treatment that is at least comparable to what’s offered in the US at fraction of the cost.
On the other hand, I had to wait more than four weeks to be seen by a sports medicine specialist about a lingering injury. It took him less than 5 minutes to interpret an x-ray, tell me an equivalent of ‘it is what it is, suck it up, come back in two months if it still hurts’. My out of pocket was $80 on top of my $500/month insurance.
ParticipantWhat about countries not as poor as Indonesia?
Personal anecdote – my dad lives in a developing European county. Not Indonesia, but not Germany either. He had a couple of stents inserted in a non-emergency procedure. He went from his personal physician to cardiologist to surgery in less than four weeks. The total cost was close to $5K. He had to cover 10% of the total cost ($500) since he’s under 65 and it was not an emergency.
Had he needed an emergency brain surgery he would have died, but as an average person with a fairly common need he received treatment that is at least comparable to what’s offered in the US at fraction of the cost.
On the other hand, I had to wait more than four weeks to be seen by a sports medicine specialist about a lingering injury. It took him less than 5 minutes to interpret an x-ray, tell me an equivalent of ‘it is what it is, suck it up, come back in two months if it still hurts’. My out of pocket was $80 on top of my $500/month insurance.
ParticipantWhat about countries not as poor as Indonesia?
Personal anecdote – my dad lives in a developing European county. Not Indonesia, but not Germany either. He had a couple of stents inserted in a non-emergency procedure. He went from his personal physician to cardiologist to surgery in less than four weeks. The total cost was close to $5K. He had to cover 10% of the total cost ($500) since he’s under 65 and it was not an emergency.
Had he needed an emergency brain surgery he would have died, but as an average person with a fairly common need he received treatment that is at least comparable to what’s offered in the US at fraction of the cost.
On the other hand, I had to wait more than four weeks to be seen by a sports medicine specialist about a lingering injury. It took him less than 5 minutes to interpret an x-ray, tell me an equivalent of ‘it is what it is, suck it up, come back in two months if it still hurts’. My out of pocket was $80 on top of my $500/month insurance.
ParticipantWhat about countries not as poor as Indonesia?
Personal anecdote – my dad lives in a developing European county. Not Indonesia, but not Germany either. He had a couple of stents inserted in a non-emergency procedure. He went from his personal physician to cardiologist to surgery in less than four weeks. The total cost was close to $5K. He had to cover 10% of the total cost ($500) since he’s under 65 and it was not an emergency.
Had he needed an emergency brain surgery he would have died, but as an average person with a fairly common need he received treatment that is at least comparable to what’s offered in the US at fraction of the cost.
On the other hand, I had to wait more than four weeks to be seen by a sports medicine specialist about a lingering injury. It took him less than 5 minutes to interpret an x-ray, tell me an equivalent of ‘it is what it is, suck it up, come back in two months if it still hurts’. My out of pocket was $80 on top of my $500/month insurance.
ParticipantWhat about countries not as poor as Indonesia?
Personal anecdote – my dad lives in a developing European county. Not Indonesia, but not Germany either. He had a couple of stents inserted in a non-emergency procedure. He went from his personal physician to cardiologist to surgery in less than four weeks. The total cost was close to $5K. He had to cover 10% of the total cost ($500) since he’s under 65 and it was not an emergency.
Had he needed an emergency brain surgery he would have died, but as an average person with a fairly common need he received treatment that is at least comparable to what’s offered in the US at fraction of the cost.
On the other hand, I had to wait more than four weeks to be seen by a sports medicine specialist about a lingering injury. It took him less than 5 minutes to interpret an x-ray, tell me an equivalent of ‘it is what it is, suck it up, come back in two months if it still hurts’. My out of pocket was $80 on top of my $500/month insurance.
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