I've been thinking about writing a musing about the state of our medicine. Each time I recoiled. The topic is so vast and so fraught with complexities. But the latest medical bill we received, for a fairly simple ultrasound, has evaporated any hesitation.
Let's call it like it is. This medical "system" we're all imprisoned in is neither healthy nor caring. I've got plenty of personal stories to back that statement up, and those stories are nothing compared to those who've lost, literally lost, their loved ones, or who've been rendered financially destitute.
If only it were just about the money. Yes, the money is significant. The medical establishment gets away with practices that would put most companies out of business. Charging $220 for a 15-minute visit. Thousands of dollars for an ultrasound.
Going after patients without the means to pay, even if it means causing them to lose their home while hospital CEOs make millions.
No, it's not just the money. It's also about the condescension, the lack of ethics, and sometimes, some too many times, outright malpractice. I've had a doctor tell me I would lose my thyroid eventually and there's nothing I can do about it. I've had a dermatologist prescribe antibiotic regimen after antibiotic regimen for acne before I finally dumped him and solved the problem on my own. Several months of probiotics and a strategic change in diet, and I've had crystal clear, glowing skin for years now. No thanks to the medical "professionals."
Unlike fine wine, the medical system doesn't get better with age. Last year I discovered what felt like a little cyst under my left arm, so I went to my ob-gyn to have it checked out. I asked for an ultra sound. The doctor (a woman) insisted I need a mammogram. I asked why—the cyst was under my arm, on the side, nowhere near the chest. She said it's standard process. Really.
When I called the next day to schedule the ultra sound, her office
refused to order it. Her nurse tried all sorts of scare tactics to get me to agree to the mammogram. I refused. All I needed, and wanted, was an ultrasound. It's my body; I get to decide what it should and should not undergo. I even offered to do the procedure they wanted
afterwards, if the ultrasound found something that might warrant it. But the doctor refused to order the ultrasound for me. In my view, that is refusal of medical care. I ended up filing a formal complaint against her.
Happily, the little cyst dissolved on its own and I'm fine. But what would have happened if I had had a real problem, which they refused to help diagnose?
The experience made me realize, one more time, we really are on our own. It is our responsibility to do our own research, to know our own bodies, to make the best decisions we can, and not blindly agree to whatever the medical centers insist on.
It's not always the case, of course. There are wonderful, highly capable doctors out there. Doctors who care. Doctors who are open to preventive care and who understand the importance of nutrition, exercise, and whole-body medicine.
But unless you take the time to research, ask questions, get second and third and fourth opinions, you won't be able to tell the good doctors from the ones whose only god is money. Just ask the pharmaceutical companies sitting in courtrooms right now.
~ Birgitte
