A Doctor's Insecurity
I just got back from my new cardiologist--not that I need a specialist but, heck, the insurance co-pay is no more for a specialist. I left my old one, an Indian, because he doubled my medication "malpractically." [relax, oh great one, I'm not presently suing). My new doctor is a Jew as I thought it was time to change to a doctor that would not automatically put you into a lesser caste (so long as you were all paid up, of course). Anyway, it turns out I was wrong about anticipating any kind of better treatment from my second doctor.
Here's what happened. Looking at my last lab results, he asked me if my cholesterol numbers were being treated with statins. I said I didn't have any faith in the purported benefits of statins. He then asked me smugly if I had gone to medical school because, "no matter how much I thought I knew, I could never know as much as he." That may be true but there's a little known caveat that medical specialists simply ignore and, that is, everyone they treat is a distinct individual who cannot possibly be treated within the customary 5 minute or less window that they allocate to each of their patients. That means that it is up to me to make sure that I keep up with the latest medical news. With regards to statins, there is some evidence that it helps patients but it's a very small group and the risks may not be worth it (recently, a drug called Baycol, a statin, is now in the courts because of terrible morbidity.)
Apart from all that, though, why is a doctor so damn better than a lawyer, plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, or public official. You can ask these people and almost any other profession any thing you want and they don't counter with, to use one example, "Did you go to plumbing school? They just address your concerns and go from there. A doctor just feels an affront when his judgment, integrity, or intelligence is called into question. Give us a break, docs, you make a ton of money thanks to our stupid legislators and you should grow some thicker skin.
So, what am I to do? Keep looking for another one? No, the truth is I only go to these creeps because our great government says I am incapable of writing my own prescription.
Talk about waste in medicine. People who take medications for the long-term or repeatedly such as patients who are hypertensive, diabetic, or have a sore throat, earache, or other well-documented and easily treatable illness--these patients--should be able to obtain their medication without having to grease the doctor's pockets. Before the AMA starts calling me names, efficacy and toxicity tests should be ordered by the doctor BEFORE he even writes out one script. The doctor gets to determine the frequency of future testing. To reiterate, you go to a doctor, he prescribes exercise and medications for your hypertension and tells you to quit the salt. The refill says: "until further notice." You take the medications and periodically have your blood pressure taken (how much can they charge for this? $5?) and get some blood work done. If a problem arises, you then make an appointment. Why should anyone have to see a doctor at--what, $125 a clip?--just to have someone take your blood pressure, write a script, and order a test.
But, I guess I'll stick with this guy until such time that his insecurity rears it's ugly and pitiable head trying to prove that he knows more than the individual about what works and what doesn't. I can only hope that he's not hell bent on prescribing statins because of some pharmaceutical company pressure/kickback; or, best case, that he was bamboozled by them into thinking the product is in the patients' interest.
Here's what happened. Looking at my last lab results, he asked me if my cholesterol numbers were being treated with statins. I said I didn't have any faith in the purported benefits of statins. He then asked me smugly if I had gone to medical school because, "no matter how much I thought I knew, I could never know as much as he." That may be true but there's a little known caveat that medical specialists simply ignore and, that is, everyone they treat is a distinct individual who cannot possibly be treated within the customary 5 minute or less window that they allocate to each of their patients. That means that it is up to me to make sure that I keep up with the latest medical news. With regards to statins, there is some evidence that it helps patients but it's a very small group and the risks may not be worth it (recently, a drug called Baycol, a statin, is now in the courts because of terrible morbidity.)
Apart from all that, though, why is a doctor so damn better than a lawyer, plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, or public official. You can ask these people and almost any other profession any thing you want and they don't counter with, to use one example, "Did you go to plumbing school? They just address your concerns and go from there. A doctor just feels an affront when his judgment, integrity, or intelligence is called into question. Give us a break, docs, you make a ton of money thanks to our stupid legislators and you should grow some thicker skin.
So, what am I to do? Keep looking for another one? No, the truth is I only go to these creeps because our great government says I am incapable of writing my own prescription.
Talk about waste in medicine. People who take medications for the long-term or repeatedly such as patients who are hypertensive, diabetic, or have a sore throat, earache, or other well-documented and easily treatable illness--these patients--should be able to obtain their medication without having to grease the doctor's pockets. Before the AMA starts calling me names, efficacy and toxicity tests should be ordered by the doctor BEFORE he even writes out one script. The doctor gets to determine the frequency of future testing. To reiterate, you go to a doctor, he prescribes exercise and medications for your hypertension and tells you to quit the salt. The refill says: "until further notice." You take the medications and periodically have your blood pressure taken (how much can they charge for this? $5?) and get some blood work done. If a problem arises, you then make an appointment. Why should anyone have to see a doctor at--what, $125 a clip?--just to have someone take your blood pressure, write a script, and order a test.
But, I guess I'll stick with this guy until such time that his insecurity rears it's ugly and pitiable head trying to prove that he knows more than the individual about what works and what doesn't. I can only hope that he's not hell bent on prescribing statins because of some pharmaceutical company pressure/kickback; or, best case, that he was bamboozled by them into thinking the product is in the patients' interest.
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