Frustration Is Setting in

Let me start by saying I'm not a very patient man. It has now been over a week since I had the issue with my back. I haven't started physical therapy yet because I haven't been able to get in to see my primary care physician. That appointment comes tomorrow. While we are not sure if the physical therapy will even help the problem, they are saying that is step one. The frustrating part is, I could have been doing physical therapy all this week. I saw the surgeon in the hospital, I saw the hospitals physician while I was in the hospital, and I saw a physical therapist there as well, so why do I have to wait for my primary care doctor to give me the okay to start the physical therapy? There's one week of my summer shot to hell because of the little game the medical profession plays. Everybody has to get their slice of the pie. I'm going to sound like an old man here but remember when we were kids and we had a medical issue? We would call our family doctor who 9 out of 10 times would make time to see us that day. Sometimes we might have to go meet him at the hospital while he was doing his rounds, but we would still get in to see him that day. If we went to his office and we needed a prescription, if he had free samples from the pharmaceutical companies he would give us those to tie us over until we made it to the pharmacy. I remember the doctor coming to our house on a few occasions.

Nowadays, when you call your doctor and ask to be seen, it could take up to six weeks before you can get an appointment. To me, that's B.S. That shouldn't even be legal. Is there that much of a shortage of doctors that we can't get in to see our doctors sooner? Or is it just the corporate greed cog in the sky that has worked out a deal with the insurance companies to make this the new norm? I don't like it! The needs of many should outweigh the needs of the few. Everyone needs good health care so instead of putting the corporate bottom line first, why don't you put your patients first? Didn't you take an oath to that effect at some point when you first became a doctor?

I understand that times have changed and nothing stays the same, but this is one thing that never should have changed. I miss the neighborhood doctor, the one who cared about their patients, their neighbors, and keeping people healthy. I don't have the solution to the problem but I sure know what the problem is.