Frustration at the Doctor's Office

Posted by desimarie23 9 years, 6 months ago to The Gulch: General
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Almost two weeks ago I woke up with a sore throat. The kind of sore throat that makes drinking water painful and unworthy of the struggle. I don't go to the Doctor often...in fact I haven't been in two or three years, my fire department provides me with a yearly physical. With that being said, I don't have health insurance. I always pay out of pocket, even if I go to the hospital. It had never been an issue until this sore throat. I made this doctor's appointment, and arrived 40 minutes early to update my records (like I said, it's been three years). The nursing staff was unprofessional...to put it lightly. I paid the $90 copay and waited to be brought in. Once in the room, I waited another 35 minutes for the PA, in a COMPLETELY EMPTY OFFICE. I was their sole patient.

The PA finally came in and looked at my throat...and said "you have strep"...I have had strep at least 5 times as a child...granted its been 17 years but I don't recall pain quite like this. So I asked if they were going to do a throat culture to be sure ( I explained that I'm a volunteer firefighter aside from my day job, and on call overnight every night so I needed to be positive). Her response was "we typically don't do any testing on people that don't have insurance." I told her that I was prepared to pay whatever I needed to pay to be sure that's what I had...I'm not inclined to take medication unless absolutely necessary and it's worked for me thus far.
The woman refused to test me...that it wasn't worth it and she is positive that it's strep throat.

Well here we are, two weeks later, antibiotic has been finished for 3 days and I have the SAME pain and tenderness in my throat (if not slightly worse) along with cold symptoms that will not go away.

All of this over lack of insurance. I have never experienced anything like this in my life. I'm obviously going to find a different doctor, but is this what I'm going to deal with because I actually want to PAY FOR MY MEDICAL CARE ON THE SPOT??

P.S. - I left a 'Who is John Galt?' post-it on the check-up table.


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  • Posted by kddr22 9 years, 6 months ago
    This is not Obamacare it was just bad care, a rapid strep is very inexpensive and a throat cx is not very much as well.. Kddr22( Dr Norman)
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    • Posted by $ Mimi 9 years, 6 months ago
      It sounds like they treated a viral-bug with antibiotics prematurely and she ended up with a secondary infection that now needs an antibiotic treatment. Right?
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  • Posted by $ Mimi 9 years, 6 months ago
    I still pay out of pocket. You have to look for a 'boutique doctor’ someone who you retain to see you. This type of practice is becoming popular. I’m in the same boat. I haven’t yet worked out what I will do when I get sick, but I will never sign up for Obamacare.
    Love the post-it note placement!

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  • Posted by Snoogoo 9 years, 6 months ago
    For suspected strep throat, if they are available in your area, I would suggest one of the clinics inside Walgreens or Target, CVS, etc. You don't see a doctor, but a qualified nurse can see you, do the test, and give your the appropriate RX all for less than $150 if you are a cash payer. All of this takes less than an hour. For minor, urgent care type issues, these private clinics work great. I HAVE insurance that these small commercial clinics will accept, but I tell them I don't and want to pay cash because it ends up being cheaper paying with cash when you put together co-pay and co-insurance. Case in point, two stitches using my insurance $900 out of pocket. IF the Target clinic had been open at 10:00 PM when I sliced my finger, I would have paid about $100. Walmart is also starting to add these clinics around the country. These small clinics are one thing that can help lower the cost of healthcare because they increase the supply and keep people out of the ER.
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  • Posted by richrobinson 9 years, 6 months ago
    Hope you feel better soon Desimarie. I think we can all look forward to this kind of treatment under Obamacare. I went without insurance when I was younger and I remember one occasion when the doctor didn't order an MRI because I was paying out of pocket. It turned out fine but I think you are doing the right thing by finding a new doctor.
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    • Posted by $ Susanne 9 years, 6 months ago
      You didn't pay into their system that they are brainwashed into believing is what *everyone* should have; the not-so subtle message you were being given is "You need to embrace the wished of our dear and tender loving Great Leader Obama, and subscribe to His benevolence".

      They don't want your cash - they want to show the dotgov they are 121.93% supporting and pushing their agenda.

      I would run - not walk, RUN - from such a doctor's office, and find one that is a Doctor's office, not a Government Aid and Propaganda Station... I wouldn't be surprised to see copies of the yet-unreleased book on proper nutrition written by Queen Michelle on their tables.
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  • Posted by eilinel 9 years, 6 months ago
    In her defense, I'll point out that strep tests are very specific (you won't get a false positive), but not very sensitive (it's pretty easy to get a false negative). That being said, if the patient specifically asked for one, I'd probably do it, and prescribe an antibiotic that covers strep along with other stuff.
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