Politics

I don't want to make any political statements here, but I'm starting to think that socialized medicine, while it is theoretically a good idea to provide anyone and everyone with decent, affordable healthcare, may not work so well in practice (at least not for those of us who can afford really good healthcare).

For awhile now (on and off since before my marathon in mid-May), I have had some pain in my right leg and buttock (okay, you can stop laughing now). Thinking it was just a muscle strain/pull, I decided that with stretching and time it would heal itself and there was no reason to see a doctor. That is, until the pain became almost unbearable a few days ago. The first calls were to orthopedists, but they couldn't get me in for an appointment until the end of August (yeah, the end of August!). While I was eventually able to make an appointment with a generalist for the next day, I didn't have high hopes that he would be able to do a lot for me in his office (though the orthopedist probably wouldn't, either) and I thought that my next best option would be to go to an emergency clinic. When I arrived at the open clinic (the clinics rotate hours so not all of them are open at the same time) and saw how many people were in the waiting room, I decided I didn't have the time nor the patience to sit there all day and wait to be seen. I had also been to an "urgence" clinic before and found it to be somewhat less than helpful. So I left and held out hope for the next day's appointment.

The doctor's office was on the second floor of an apartment building, in what was simply a small apartment converted into a waiting room, a toilette, an examination room, and another room into which I did not go (I suppose it could have been another exam room, but it could just as easily have been the doctor's bedroom, for all I know). But at least the doctor spoke English. In fact, he had even studied at the University of Houston. After his initial questions about insurance and medical history, I told him what my problem was and he immediately thought I might have a back problem (possibly a herniated disc) and suggested a CT scan. That sounded fine to me (I was ready to do anything to find and cure the root of the problem), but when I asked if that was something I could do that day, he almost laughed and said it would probably be about three weeks before I could get an appointment. He called the clinic and, in fact, my appointment was made for exactly three weeks from that day. Fantastic...

In the meantime, though, he did give me a prescription for anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, vitamins, magnesium, and a Ben-Gay-type of gel. I filled the prescription in 5 minutes or less and the total came to only EUR 17. Between that and the doctor's fee, I paid less than EUR 60 out of pocket, and I am pretty sure I will be refunded at least 80% of the doctor's EUR 40 fee. This part I like. But something I thought was interesting was that, although I was only prescribed the anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxer for 5 days (one/day), I was given a full box of each - 20 of one pill and 30 of the other.

So, in summary:
Cheap healthcare = good
Fast, cheap prescriptions (including extra drugs) = good
6 week waiting period to see a specialist = bad
3 week waiting period for CT scan = bad

On balance, I guess it could be a lot worse. And we will have to wait to see how the rest of this experience plays out, but I think I would prefer to pay a little bit more for insurance if it means I could at least be diagnosed (nevermind actually treated) in less than 3 (or more) weeks.