Working together with medical or social care providers in the USA makes you wonder how imperfect and insufficient the medical system is the country that claims to be the leader of the planet Earth ( by the way, China would doubt that statement).
In my humble opinion, problem number one is lack of information on different cultures and people/patients who grew outside the U.S. that a doctor or a social worker experiences quite often in work environment but prefers not to notice or pay enough attention to.
Why don’t they start teaching future doctors, nurses and other professionals whose job is to help/cure/couch people, what patients of different origins expect from high-quality medical or social care so that the needs of new immigrants would be satisfied?
Every time I have to visit a doctor or take my child to the pediatrician, they always make me feel uncomfortable, rushed and show zero to little interest in my health concerns. I need to be able to confide in my doctor, I want him/her talk to me and share their own experience. To sum up, I want my doctor to at least create an illusion of being “my friend”. That’s how I am used to be treated by doctors at home, in Kyiv. Almost all of them were or became friends of my family. American standards don’t allow friendship between a patient and a doctor. I feel sad about it…
P.S. If anyone knows a great pediatrician in the Greater Philadelphia Area, please, give me his/her office number!
Problem number two I consider to be the weakest link in American medicine. It is poor diagnostic skills that quite a few providers showed so far. In order to justify my words, I am going to provide two examples:
Example 1:
Setting: Kyiv, Ukraine.
Medical Concern: Severe Toothache.
I went to my dentist to get rid of an unbearable tooth pain. He checked my mouth cavity and said:”Your teeth are fine. But I suggest you pay a visit to an otolaryngologist since I see clear symptoms of sinus infection you are suffering from”. Again, he is dentist but, somehow, can diagnose health problems in other branches of medicine.
Conclusion: when doctors don’t narrow down their field of expertise to the minimum possible, they are much more valuable, qualified and helpful to patients.
My reaction: applause and respect for the dentist.
Example 2:
Setting: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Medical Concern: Severe Earache
I went to an otolaryngologist to find out the source of a very bad earache and get remedy for it. Doctor Brad M. ran all tests possible ( including hearing test) and concluded: “ Your ears are fine. I suggest you go back to your general physician or dentist, maybe there is a problem with your teeth. I don’t know. Or, but the good news is —your hearing is perfect!”. Haha, it would be a matter of joy if it wasn’t a matter of frustration.
I went to the dentist and fixed everything that could be fixed in my mouth but pain wasn’t going away, quite the opposite—I started loosing my hearing. So I made another attempt and went to otolaryngologist William H. She checked my ears and informed me on the following: “You have got a case of a severe fungal infection. You will have to cure it for months with special ear drops and come back for check-ups to me”.
Conclusion: some medical providers should be deprived of their practice licenses and never call themselves “doctors” again, Another fact: there are some skillful medical providers out there but they are as hard to find as pearls on the bottom of the ocean.
My reaction: anger, frustration ( Dr. Brad M.) hope, certain belief in “doctorkind” ( Dr. William H.).
The problem number three is bigger than two previous ones: complexity and ineffectiveness of medical system in the United States. As much as everyone is aware of the problem, no one does anything until the time they have to face the system in all its “glory”. I have had such an unpleasant experience trying to get my reimbursement for the prescriptions from the third-party company functioning as an intermediator between me and my medical insurance carrier.
To make the long story short, I have started fighting for the money they owed me in March. It’s May 17th today and the only progress I have gotten to is receiving unstoppable calls from various customer service representatives on a daily basis. I made them accept and ( what is more important) register my claim. So I am holding my fingers crossed for the successful ending of the “escalation done on a direct member reimbursement error”. Meanwhile, there are not so many people who would fight the system for some $30 check. The main motivation I have is it to get justice. In the world full of deception and scam, there should be some place left for Her Majesty Fair Play.
As one wisdom states: “Long way to Fuji starts with the first step”.
Good luck to those who don’t give up no matter what!
Ukrainian in Philly 