81–90 of 239 posts
One thing that's surprised me about the US is the general slowness of most things. In India, you can get MRIs and CT Scans same day. Or you could the last time I was there. And it didn't cost very much in comparison. My doctors have all been good (attested to by my parents who are surgeons themselves) but the healthcare system is wonky. One thing I didn't expect is that the Indian system where you just drag your heal…
Lately I can’t even get a doctor - both the specialist and primary care doctors are booked months in advance. And I have one of the best insurance coverages currently available. Remember how we laughed at Canadians and Brits waiting for months to see their free/cheap doctors? Well we’re at a point where we have to wait _and_ pay through the nose. And then they can’t really do anything or fuck you up even worse.
I've heard of people calling their insurance company and keeping them on the line while they call a handful of offices and get turned down for appointments to get this approved.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The general slowness extends to simple things like x-rays and blood tests too. This is not just US but whole of the west seems to have the exact same attitude. Most of Asia has same day or next day medical tests. In India you can order something like UberEats where in a technician comes home collects your blood samples and the results are emailed within the next 24 hours or so. Medicine seems to be commoditzed in the…
> The general slowness extends to simple things like x-rays and blood tests too. This is not just US but whole of the west seems to have the exact same attitude. In Switzerland I get an MRI within 48 hours if my doctor orders it. Mind you, healthcare is also very expensive comparatively but the quality is very high and coverage is extensive.
One thing that's surprised me about the US is the general slowness of most things. In India, you can get MRIs and CT Scans same day. Or you could the last time I was there. And it didn't cost very much in comparison. My doctors have all been good (attested to by my parents who are surgeons themselves) but the healthcare system is wonky. One thing I didn't expect is that the Indian system where you just drag your heal…
Basically, for equal quality in india you'll always end up paying 2x-5x of what you'll pay in any developed nation.
This is the primary reason, if you are rich and want quality - you will overpay in india.
One thing that's surprised me about the US is the general slowness of most things. In India, you can get MRIs and CT Scans same day. Or you could the last time I was there. And it didn't cost very much in comparison. My doctors have all been good (attested to by my parents who are surgeons themselves) but the healthcare system is wonky. One thing I didn't expect is that the Indian system where you just drag your heal…
Electronic interop, in my experience talking to my GP (not US), is tricky not because of technical challenges but very strict privacy implications.
I go to two hospitals and am dealing with a medical condition and it's a total nightmare. Each hospital uses the same backend but I have to go through a lengthy and convoluted process to let them share information with each other after every single appointment.
I'm getting really sick of this affecting my treatment in the name of "privacy." I have a medical condition, for god's sake. Privacy is completely irrelevant if my doctors cannot even efficiently communicate to treat me.
Every week I curse whoever it was that thought this would be a great idea. I'm sure it sounded great in their heads, as regulations tend to do for most bureaucrats.
I am a security engineer btw, I have worked on privacy and security featuresets for products that billions of people use every day. I am 100% confident that it is doing more harm than good in the medical-information-sharing space.
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Aha! But Germany is also a federation. So it's only fair to compare Alabama to Saarland. Oh, wait...
Well, Bavaria is famously the Texas of Germany…
Quality of care is shit. Doctors barely care about their patients. It’s all a racket. Most areas seem to have a local monopoly that takes over the local hospitals. Obamacare has done nothing to really change anything meaningfully.
The consolidation of the last 20 years has been a real black mark on the system. It was supposed to improve outcomes by making all the records easily available in one system. Instead we've seen the independent doctors office largely go by the wayside and local competition decrease.
Not all outcomes are comparable or worse though. The outcomes most improved seem to be net worth of executives.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The general slowness extends to simple things like x-rays and blood tests too. This is not just US but whole of the west seems to have the exact same attitude. Most of Asia has same day or next day medical tests. In India you can order something like UberEats where in a technician comes home collects your blood samples and the results are emailed within the next 24 hours or so. Medicine seems to be commoditzed in the…
> The general slowness extends to simple things like x-rays and blood tests too. This is not just US but whole of the west seems to have the exact same attitude. In Switzerland I get an MRI within 48 hours if my doctor orders it. Mind you, healthcare is also very expensive comparatively but the quality is very high and coverage is extensive.
And Why can't you just walk in to a clinic to get x-rays and tests done like it is in done elsewhere. Have clinics compete for price.
The other part no one mentions is the utter cheating that goes on in statistics to show that the health care system is doing good. Things like counting the patients who were admitted but not counting the rest 90% who died just waiting for months.
One thing that's surprised me about the US is the general slowness of most things. In India, you can get MRIs and CT Scans same day. Or you could the last time I was there. And it didn't cost very much in comparison. My doctors have all been good (attested to by my parents who are surgeons themselves) but the healthcare system is wonky. One thing I didn't expect is that the Indian system where you just drag your heal…
The general slowness extends to simple things like x-rays and blood tests too. This is not just US but whole of the west seems to have the exact same attitude. Most of Asia has same day or next day medical tests. In India you can order something like UberEats where in a technician comes home collects your blood samples and the results are emailed within the next 24 hours or so. Medicine seems to be commoditzed in the…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you're a billionaire or close to it, the US healthcare system is fantastic, unless of course you're traveling in one of the "medical deserts" and have an acute emergency.
If you’re a billionaire EVERYTHING is fantastic.
A billion is just three Manhattan skyscrapers, so it can't change a city. Depending on where you live, you might well experience the exhaust, dust and noise of these environments, no matter how luxurious your individual dwelling.