Primary Health Care Providers

[barfo]

Put Americans on a diet of fish, soy and rice and we'd be healthy too.

And isn't being healthy kind of a useful thing?

Also, we'd have to have the Japanese mindset of "the nail that sticks up is the first to get hammered". Unfortunately for the author (and for you), we're a land of fatty foods and where the individual is celebrated.

Why is that unfortunate for the author or me?

Japan is a terrible example of what we should do.

There are some good points and some bad points about Japanese health care, but I didn't post it saying "this is what the US should do", nor did the author of the article, as far as I can remember. It is nevertheless useful to look to see what works and doesn't work in other countries. There's no requirement that says if we look at another country's health plan we have to implement it.

barfo

 

[barfo]

You claim the guy is complaining about making $270k in Redding. I'd like to know how you calculated your criticism of him.

See post #6.

I doubt he's making $270k/year off of his practice.

That's fine, doubt away. I have no idea what he makes, I was just trying to figure it out from the data he provided. If you have better data, I'd be happy to look at it.

barfo

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It used to be our best and brightest chose medicine as a vocation. Now, those docs are lucky if they make $150K. Why not go into a field where you need less schooling and can make considerably more? People lament that the number of physicians isn't increasing with the population growth. The answer is simple: pay more, and you'll get more doctors.

I also note that medical schools will (and have been) lowering standards tremendously to get students to turn out as PCP's. It will simply become another high cost/low reward job like so many PHD's who are teaching community college jobs at $60,000 per year after spending a few hundred thousand for their degrees.

The best & brightest will do other things.

 

[Sug]

Well this dude only made around 40 chickens a year. So WTF is this doc complaining about!

 

[Sug]

I also note that medical schools will (and have been) lowering standards tremendously to get students to turn out as PCP's. It will simply become another high cost/low reward job like so many PHD's who are teaching community college jobs at $60,000 per year after spending a few hundred thousand for their degrees.

The best & brightest will do other things.

Why does it cost so much to become a medical doctor? There are so many medical schools, why is the free market failing?

The sad thing is that many of the best and brightest doctors that practice in the states come from overseas where the majority get their medical schooling for FREE! HOLY SHIT OUR BEST DOCTORS ARE SOCIALISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[PapaG]

See post #6.



That's fine, doubt away. I have no idea what he makes, I was just trying to figure it out from the data he provided. If you have better data, I'd be happy to look at it.

barfo

In other words, you made up a criticism based on "data" given, yet you managed to not include any operating costs.

 

[barfo]

In other words, you made up a criticism based on "data" given, yet you managed to not include any operating costs.

I already gave my reasons for excluding operating costs. Twice, in fact. No point in repeating it a third time when you haven't been paying attention.

barfo

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Why does it cost so much to become a medical doctor? There are so many medical schools, why is the free market failing?

The sad thing is that many of the best and brightest doctors that practice in the states come from overseas where the majority get their medical schooling for FREE!

For openers, medical schools have to keep abreast on the latest technology, staff with competent teaching physicians... remember, they're teaching people on how to diagnose and treat the human body- and that just ain't cheap to do.

That's a really good point about doctors trained in other countries.

 

[maxiep]

And isn't being healthy kind of a useful thing?

It's very useful. Are you going to require we eat like the Japanese? I believe in freedom.

Why is that unfortunate for the author or me?

Because it renders the comparison moot.

There are some good points and some bad points about Japanese health care, but I didn't post it saying "this is what the US should do", nor did the author of the article, as far as I can remember. It is nevertheless useful to look to see what works and doesn't work in other countries. There's no requirement that says if we look at another country's health plan we have to implement it.

barfo

Well, in the Venn Diagram of life, there isn't much overlay.

 

[maxiep]

Why does it cost so much to become a medical doctor? There are so many medical schools, why is the free market failing?

The sad thing is that many of the best and brightest doctors that practice in the states come from overseas where the majority get their medical schooling for FREE! HOLY SHIT OUR BEST DOCTORS ARE SOCIALISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sug's motto: Never Let The Truth or Facts Get In The Way of A Good Argument.

 

[barfo]

It's very useful. Are you going to require we eat like the Japanese? I believe in freedom.

I didn't plan on it. In fact, I'm not going to require that we do anything at all.

Because it renders the comparison moot.

Well, in the Venn Diagram of life, there isn't much overlay.

There is some, however. Japanese are not Martians. They don't have 10 legs and an external stomach. At least not most of them.

barfo

 

[elcap15]

I dont know how we can expect government to take care of us if we dont first want to take care of ourselves. I think this is the single biggest difference the US and other developed nations. A quick exerpt from Wiki on US health:

The United States life expectancy of 77.8 years at birth[148] is a year shorter than the overall figure in Western Europe, and three to four years lower than that of Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.[149] Over the past two decades, the country's rank in life expectancy has dropped from 11th to 42nd in the world.[150] The infant mortality rate of 6.37 per thousand likewise places the United States 42nd out of 221 countries, behind all of Western Europe.[151] U.S. cancer survival rates are the highest in the world.[152] Approximately one-third of the adult population is obese and an additional third is overweight;[153] the obesity rate, the highest in the industrialized world, has more than doubled in the last quarter-century.[154] Obesity-related type 2 diabetes is considered epidemic by health care professionals.[155] The U.S. adolescent pregnancy rate, 79.8 per 1,000 women, is nearly four times that of France and five times that of Germany.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America#Demographics

 

[maxiep]

I didn't plan on it. In fact, I'm not going to require that we do anything at all.





There is some, however. Japanese are not Martians. They don't have 10 legs and an external stomach. At least not most of them.

barfo

Don't blame me for the poor example you provided.

 

[maxiep]

I dont know how we can expect government to take care of us if we dont first want to take care of ourselves. I think this is the single biggest difference the US and other developed nations. A quick exerpt from Wiki on US health:



- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America#Demographics

Freedom means the ability to make bad decisions. I celebrate that right, but don't ask me to pay for it.

 

[barfo]

Don't blame me for the poor example you provided.

Don't blame me for your poor reading comprehension. All I said was it was interesting. I didn't say it was an example of anything.

barfo

 

[bodyman5001]

I was doing some searching about my gallbladder and how great I feel now and found this...

BTW, I am back at work 10 days after my surgery and feel better than I have in years. My entire hospital stay was for one week, feel bad for this person. I know this isn't exactly related to primary care but fuck....


http://www.healthboards.com/boards/...=feel+great+after+gallbladder+surgery&page=11 post number 54 on this page I think



My horror story pertains only to the fact that I had to rely on the Canadian medical system. I had gall bladder attacks for three months strait and had to live on apple juice and jello, but still they refused to send me for so much as an ultrasound. At age 28 apparently I was "too young" to have gall bladder problems. Finally I went to a naturopath for help. He gave me meds to supposedly slowly dissolve the stones naturally. Within about an hour of taking the meds I got a stone lodged in the duct and went into convulsions. That sent me to the ER where they plugged me full of Percoset. Ya, apparently I'm allergic to it. So, went home, was up sick and hallucinating all night, and back to the ER in the morning and finally admited. Spent a couple of weeks on morphine on a dirty gurney in the ER (no beds available), and finally turned yellow before they were able to book a surgery. They managed to do the lap surgery, but it was complicated, and I required a whole month to recover. Took about three more before I was back to normal. Fun stuff!! lol

Anyway, despite the pathetic medical system, I did manage to have a decent surgeon who did a good job. I had IBS prior to the surgery, and if anything, it's actually a little better since. I've had no problems since and could eat pretty much anything right after. Though having not eaten for several months, I was very careful in waking up my system in the beginning.

One thing I wanted to point out for those who haven't decided to have it removed: if you have stones, drink apple juice. It softens the stones. Not saying they'll pass or anything, but at least it helps with pain. Be sure to brush your teeth after you drink it though, as it has the same corosive effect on teeth as it does on the stones.