November 23, 2009

Yet Another Day Wasted Seeing a Doctor

Hi. It's me. You know, the guy who kind of owns this blog.*

Yes, Rusty.

So, I spent the day going to and from the doctor once again. My wife seems to be getting better. At least, the infection she got from the "minor" surgery seems to be not growing.

Not growing. Doctor's words, not my own. And he used them with a smile on his face as if not getting worse is, in fact, equivalent to getting better.

Right.

And so, here we are once again with a new and stronger antibiotic since, you know, the second surgery didn't fix it, nor did the second round of stronger antibiotics.

But at least she's not getting worse!

It's a bitter victory, but I guess I'll take what I can get.

Let's pray this even more potent antibiotic get's things moving in the right direction. That my wife will start getting better rather than just not getting worse.

In all of this I'm tempted to lose faith in our health care system. The doctor obviously screwed up. Yet, in the past few weeks the doctor hasn't been able to admit this. Despite not admitting guilt, he hasn't charged us a dime for the followup surgery nor any of the five or so visits. I think his actions here pretty much sum it up that he knows something didn't go right and that he's responsible. And the fact that he can't admit this has soured our relationship.

I know a lot of people complain about insurance companies standing in the way of the doctor patient relationship, and I'm not sure I disagree, but in my mind it is the lawyers that do the most harm. How can one have a relationship -- even a business relationship -- when the truth is not permitted to be spoken? How can you trust someone who cannot tell you the truth?

I'm not against malpractice lawsuits in theory. I understand their value. Hell, I've contemplated one over the last few weeks. But there is some level of litigiousness at which normal relationships are no longer possible. It's not just that unnecessary medical tests and procedures lead to higher costs for every one, it's that the entire relationship of trust between doctor and patient is broken.

I don't think I have very many answers for reforming our medical system but I'm pretty sure that reforming the legal system would be a good start. The economist in me understands this as a cost saving measure. But speaking as a husband and a human being, I also think it's necessary in repairing the doctor-patient relationship.

And until the Democrats in Congress get this through their collectively thick skulls I'm afraid that any "reforms" they pass that do not address medical malpractice lawsuits will be worse than empty gestures.

*For the sake of full disclosure although I own this blog, Pixie Misa pays for it, and Howie reaps all of its meager profits. Don't ask me how any of that happened. It just did.