Does anyone remember how it used to be?

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VanGogh

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I've asked a number of people including doctors if the remember how it used to be when ER's were only used for serious emergencies? Much to my surprise very few people recalled anything being different than it is now which is to say: if you can see your doctor or get an appointment with A doctor, then it is recommended to go to the ER.

So before I add my recollections of how it was vs how it is, I would like to here from anyone who thinks they know the answer to my question.

I might want to ask in a separate thread about " Health Care " and what THAT meant in the past.

It might be of interest to confess to having one of those memories that most people hate especially when the memory contradicts what they recall.

For me what happens is that I travel back to the time that the event happened and in my minds eye I am " back there ". I see, I taste, I smell, I feel everything as if I am back in that moment. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes it's a bad thing because the other people who were there don't even remember that they were there. Sometimes that leads to them arguing about it which is a no win situation. I'm practicing being quiet at those times.

Hopefully this will not lead to that since as far as I know I was never back in those times with anyone here...at least that I know of...so what does anyone recall?
 
Hi,

If I understand what you wrote, you're talking about people that abuse the medical system.Many years ago people had more respect for the healthcare system.Of course there were people that had no money or insurance and had to go to the ER for care.But people that could care less and use it as many times as they want,for any minor thing is wrong.

There are many healthcare facilities in the US for the poor.Even more medical resources for the poor then the working middle class.Social services has many programs and resources for people without insurance.

The problem is though many middle class people with insurance have such high co payments now and so many expenses, that they can't afford to go to the doctor sometimes.It might take them almost a year to even meet their deductible in order for them to afford to go to the dr.

So yes more people abuse the the system and the ER,but I think our times and economy has made it worse for people to survive.

Medical expenses have gone through the roof and many hospital have had to downsize in order to stay afloat.So it's bad all over.

More and more people are struggling and it's not right, but if they need to take their child to the ER for an ear infection, then they are going to do it.

It's different then many years ago when people had long time jobs and pensions with medical care when they retired.That is no longer the case.People now have Medicare and still have to pay a portion of their medical care.They are not covered completely and most likely have to pay out of pocket expenses for their medication,treatments.

There is still gonna be the people that have money and abuse the system because they can.
I don't know if that will change.




Sagey
 
I am also not very sure what you really wanted to share in your post, but I have also been internally discussing the issue of a visit to the ER myself lately.

For me, from the family culture I come from, you only go to the ER for emergency things. Broken bones, large cuts that really need stitching, feeling really really sick with no explained reason. So most fibro pain, even the severe ones, are in my 'inner culture' not a good reason to go to ER. But lately as I am meeting more people here with fibro, I also noticed how they express their pain in terms of visits to the emergency room. I never went to the ER with fibro pains - mainly because I also think I am not all that important.

But that got me thinking - maybe I should go to the ER so that doctors start taking me seriously? But it is so not in my culture...

In the country that I now live in, people go to the ER for the most basic complaints. People even go to the ER when they have a cold and demand treatment, which is often just an IV drip. When their child has a fever, every parent here bring their kids to the ER right away. Even though most of the time, they only get paracetamol, they just have this need to take the child to the ER.

But these are stories from countries where there is social health care - so these people can see a doctor free of charge, yet they choose to go to the ER instead, which is also free of charge.

In the States, I suppose medical insurance and the huge expenses of going to doctors plays a huge part. So I wouldn't know what to say about the situation there.

But personally, I simply never felt 'worthy' for a visit to the ER. Even when I was in there with broken bones/dislocated joints, I was constantly saying 'sorry sorry' to the nurses and doctors. I felt like I was wasting their time.
 
First I want to thank both Sagey and VtC for sharing their experiences and the fact that both people were not sure what I meant by asking my question here.

Maybe it will take a few posts to explain but I think that it is important and I will do my best to tell you why. So here we go.

Without trying to offend anyone I want to share a belief that I have about HB's ( Human Beings ) that lends itself to answering many questions about why we are HERE> HERE being in the state of UNEASE about politics, religion, health, medicine, healthcare, and pretty much everything and aanything you can name. I think and experience most HB's to be short sited to a fault. Few people remember what the health care system was like in the not so distant past let alone in the distant past ( say, after WW2 ) Unless one is a student of history then the only way one might know is to have lived it. But here is the thing: even those who have lived it have forgotten. So in my non scientific study of asking doctors and patients what health care was like in the past MOST do not recall even if they lived during that time.
It occurred to me that when people " forget " there are consequences. The most basic of these consequences is that they can't even campaign for changes back to the way things were because they do not remember how things were. I've found one doctor who knew what I was asking but he had to pause for a fairly long time before he could answer my question and his answer was exactly correct. I'd like to present this in such a way that it becomes an ah ha moment instead of a confrontation about any aspect of what I am sharing here. Just take this as a history lesson and if it makes sense as to what I am suggesting them perhaps a new conversation can evolve.

When I asked this one doctor who had the correct answer to : " What did people do in the old days when they needed medical attention and the ER was know to be FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY!. He said: " The called me and I had an answering service who would relay the problem to me. I would decide if I could give them instructions mover the phone and if I could not I would meet them at my office or go to their house with my little black bag." Correct answer so far. " If a baby was do and was showing up sooner than expected I would tell them to meet me at the hospital. If things were worse than that I MIGHT tell them to go to the ER otherwise I would rush to their house WITH an ambulance. And if I was on vaction I had a team of doctors who always covered for me and they would perform the same exact procedural protocols. " The ER was used for REAL EMERGENCIES! as mentioned by Sagey and VtC. If a person was on vaction: go to the ER. If they were in an accident: go to the ER. There may have been a few other exceptions but otherwise HB's were trained NOT TO USE THE ER.

Now, Doctors do not make house calls and they don't even return calls. THEY and THE INSURANCE companies have created this NEW PROTOCOL which if you study it can obviously be seen as part of the ever worsening problem of " Health Care "

The word "EMERGENCY" comes from the pioneer days in America. It was a call to and for a doctor to make haste to grab his black bag, to get on his horse
( literally ) and rush to a patients house because ( get this ) A BABY was CRESTING and therefore "EMERGING" Hence the word EMERGency. No doctor rushed out because The Rifleman had a cold! <G>

Now that doctors won't see you they tell you to go to the ER. The ER is over crowded and the truth of the matter is the doctors on call HATE that someone wakes them up while they are trying to catch a few winks on a gurney in a darkened room at 3 AM in the AM and they get woken up because someone has a runny nose and they were told to go to the ER. Does this not seem idiotic??? It does to me.

I HATE waiting 6 hours to see someone. I hate not knowing how serious my complaint of condition is. I now have a doctor who makes house calls and it's almost like stepping into a time machine. I can reach HIM anytime of the day or night 24/7 and like the olden days he has a partner cover if he is on vacation.

What does this mean at the end of the day? It means to me that identifying what and why the system is broken is essential to attempt to fix it. Until and unless we find a way to get back to the way things were or a reasonable facsimile then we all will suffer from the consequences.

I've been working on an article or an essay, or an op-ed to submit to a few places including the AMA. But I would like to assemble a team of people who GET IT and want to be a part of an attack on a broken system. In the 60's Ralph Nader created Naders Raders to address and attack BIG BUSINESS and force them to change. If it worked then why not now?

I'll answer my own question. We do not have a TEAM. We have a bunch of helpless people who do not even remember how things once were let alone know how to address and attack the problem.

MAYBE if there was a "WE" and maybe if a plan was drawn up and presented to the powers that be a new type of change would happen.

How might this affect those of us with Fibro? I'm not sure but I can only imagine it would make things better for ALL..

Just my 2 cents.

Would love to hear what you think and IF anyone remembers the old days
 
I didn't sleep well last night and I have a noon appointment at the VA 42 miles away.

Health Care is in the news a lot this week and I listened to all of the Sunday talk shows to hear what was being said. I would like to share with you a few thoughts and things I notice and noticed over time that ARE NOT being discussed but profoundly effect us all. I'd like to write when I'm not functioning on about 3 hours of intermittent sleep.

More later.
 
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