not only the stuff you want, but more importantly, the stuff you need. it is not 'free' healthcare, it is paid for through taxes. and from what I understand, the care is great if you can actually get to see a doctor.
Doesn't look like they had any problems. Have you tried to get an urgent appointment with a dermatologist lately?
Yup, or any other specialist for that matter.
Interesting that he had a GP do a house call.
I'm curious, how many here have had (if needed) a house call by a doctor here in the U.S?
I had one about 30 years ago when I was a kid, but not sure they do it at all now.
When he picked me up for a date... Does that count?
Some do but it's usually a cash-only concierge medical situation where you pay a few thousand per year and get text, email, a complete physical and a couple minor visits per year.
ML:
I'm not sure that Mad Doctors count. Did he have a cool lab? Did he show you his Jacobs Ladder?
I know it's been decades ago, but I'm pretty sure that the gentleman that attended me did so for much less than a thousand dollars. But he was an old school country doctor, too. I'm not sure how many of his disposition are left in the U.S.
Also, I wonder if it is a symptom of supply and demand. I wonder what the doctor per capita ratio is here, as compared to the U.K.?
From the article, it sounds like they have more employed in the as nurses, midwives, etc. I wonder what the ratio is for those employed in less specialized/trained functions as well.
I think you will find that less of a barrier has been created to being a doctor, as it is not set up as a filter mechanism to ensure that it is a high paying career.
I think you will also find a bit more leeway given to medical professionals who are not full zorch doctors. Something that has had more than a few stumbling blocks here. (treatment and permitted responsibilites of nurses and physicians assistants, etc.)
In health care, along with a heck of a lot of other things, I think the government has to start looking towards spending money as an investment rather than as a handout. Spending the money getting more doctors out there with less debt might get us more, cheaper medical care in the future. Simply paying for medical care under the current system just spends money.
I agree mostly, but a good dose of personal responsibility is needed too.
If someone spent their life smoking, popping, snorting and eating everything that was put in front of them, and now they are 40 and can't get it up, I don't think my tax dollar should be buying them viagra.
No kidding... my cousin is $200k in debt between her biology and medical degrees. She has to make a killing just to pay those loans off.
Lab? Is that what you kids are calling it these days?
Do you think that the positives outweigh the negatives in allowing lower skill-set positions to have greater responsibility? I'm not asking the question pointed one way or the other, but am just curious if you think that the distribution of responsibilities is out of whack.
Do you know of any good reading materials concerning doctor's debt? It would be nice to know what the actual stats are, perhaps broken down by profession.
I'm also curious Madville readers are involved in the medical profession in any capacity.
Wow. That sucks. Did she get any grants, or other assistance that comes without charge?
I tend to agree fropfreak, in that society should not be forced to pay to support another person's lifestyle choices...unless that lifestyle choice directly benefits society.
That is, help out on a fireman's burn trauma, soldier's PTSD, etc.
U.S. Army was supposed to pay off her loans, but I don't remember what exactly happened. I think they didn't want or need anyone with her particular specialty, so she resigned her commission rather than practice outside her area of expertise.
I found some news articles that say in 2005, in the UK, the average new doctors' debt was averaging about 20,000 pounds. That same year, my cousin was starting her residency, and she hed school debts pushing $145,000 (carrying a fair amount of undergraduate debt into med school).
The average in 2007 according to the AMA was $139,517. Same year, the average annual GP income was $120,000. There is a distinct gap between graduation, and being a GP with a thriving practice, or any other kind of specialty.
As for allowing treatment by less trained individuals, when you start treating the emergency room as a walk in clinic, the nurses are going to triage you anyway, so what's the big deal if they culture your sore throat, or stitch up a minor wound where scarring is a non-issue? provided they have the appropriate training?
What if found interesting is that the NHS is the largest employer in Europe
They are the third largest employer in the world behind #1 Chinese army and #2 the Indian Railway system.
that is an intersting point, I wonder how many people the US gov employees?
ZING!
ZING!
The FF loves socialized medicine as it refuses to to allow pain medication for those with back pain and forces them to go to private clinics, which they can't afford. because so much of their income is tax to finance the public health system which offers limited and delayed assistance. The FF also enjoys British medical policy on withholding cancer drugs because of their cost. Britain kills the infidels for us! Canada is nearly as good with wait times so long the patient is long dead before their office appt. comes up. Sweeeeeet!!
As an ex nurse working for the NHS since 1970's, it has gone downhill rapidly. It has become a business and not what it was intended for...serve the sick.
We pay for it via a The National Insurance, a payment tax from our salaries. It takes an awful long time to see specialist Dr's and sometimes it is too late. It is however a great thing, to have. Here in Cyprus I have private ins, and miss 'free' treatment. Those in power are having a look at the 'old' system and I think they will make changes again in a few years.
Here is a link for the history http://www.nhshistory.net/a_guide_to_the_nhs.htm
In another example of that care for the greater good, surgery bans elderly patient of 30 years for her western sour oil carbon footprint.
fropfreak
This, I learned, is what the NHS is about -- common decency. It is about the shared belief that all the people who live in the United Kingdom constitute a society, and a decent society provides certain necessities for its members. Freedom from hunger is one. Police protection is another. Free healthcare from the cradle to the grave is simply one more item on this list.
but if I have to help take care of the members of my society, it makes it hard to get all the stuff I want!!