[Dragom]

Now I'm going to try and point to a weird spot in Medicare. It's something I can't find anything about anywhere so I'm worried I'm the only person with this particular beef.

I'll start with some examples.

What do you do if you break your arm?

1. Set the arm, or get a helpful person nearby to set it for you.
2. Secure the arm in a sling or splint.
3. Drive to emergency to get it X-rayed and a cast put on.
4. Make appointment with your Family Doctor to fill out the Workman's Comp forms.

Wait, how does your Family Doctor know your arm is actually broken? How does he know you can't do your job with a broken arm? How does he know how you broke your arm? How can he gain any real information without removing the cast?

He doesn't he'll just fill out a legal form saying he does know.

5. Wait.
6. Go to Hospital for X-ray and cast removal.
7. See Family Doctor to get a note clearing you for return to work.

Again, how does he know the stress you put on your arm at work? Some clerks only move paperwork, some heave 33kg palettes over their heads.

He doesn't really know, but he'll sign the note anyway.

Lets try another:

You become sick enough to require medical intervention

1. You make an appointment with your Family Doctor 2 weeks hence.
2. A few days latter you become sick enough to require prompt medical intervention.
3. You go the the Walk-In clinic for a prescription and medical advice.

Now consider the Physicians form for the disability support. It has many questions concerning a person's home life and relationship with family members. The answers are multiple choice. Yes, No and Sometimes. Sometimes being closest to I don't know.

The only way a Family Doctor could know the answer to those questions is if every month he came to your home and had a cup of coffee and chatted with you for 2 hours.

After the Doctor tiks every question as Sometimes, you will sound entirely incompetent.

Now consider a Family Doctors leeway in subscribing and increasing prescriptions for psychiatric drugs.

Again he doesn't have reliable information, about the effects of the drugs or the problem. All he has is your honest statement that your life still sucks.

They will often double or triple doses and add new medicines into the mix with every visit until a sane person abandons the near toxic levels of medication and enters withdrawal.

All I hear is how we need more Family Doctors. But most people wouldn't need a Family Doctor is they weren't an integral bureaucratic rubber stamp.

The only really important thing they do is check ups, and a Nurse can do that just as well.

I know people think Family Doctors are vitally important. But I think those people believe in a mythological figure that bares no resemblance to the modern Family Doctor.

[Curtman]

I thought I'd resurrect this thread to vent...

My previous family doctor was unwilling to give me a blood test for lead levels for some reason, even though I requested it several times. Since I found out a product we use at work contains lead I've been doing research, and found I have most of the symptoms listed on the Health Canada page. I went through various vitamin supplements with him, and whole range of tests for other ailments.. So I got myself a new doctor at a walk in clinic who finally agreed to do the test after doing some convincing. Finally the results came in, and he says I have a level that is considered to be toxic. He gave me a prescription for something called "DMSA", which apparently isn't available in Canada. Even if it was, they tell me its not the kind of thing that would be prescribed to someone on an outpatient basis. Now he's given me a new prescription for something called "penicillamine", which has some very scary sounding side effects. He also suggested I might want to consult a holistic medicine practitioner here in town who is certified to preform I.V. Chelation.

It seems like this is a rare condition, and everyone I've contacted says they've never had to deal with this before. As Dragom said, everyone assumes the family doctor is the eternal fountain of wisdom, but having watched him do his research on wikipedia while I was in the office I'm highly skeptical.

Anyone here know of anyone who's been through this before?

[Regina]

Remember...................50% of physicians graduated at the bottom half of their class and the smarter motivated ones, went on to be specialists.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

I managed to pull one off on my insurance company after my back was broken. After a year of payments, they decided it was time to cut me off cuz I was "well enough" to go back to work. I said, "UH uh, you needed a doctor's note to tell you how bad off I was to GET payments from you guys, you need a doctor's note to tell you I'm all better."
So, they sent me to their specialist. Their specialist was my knee surgeon from a few years previous He did a complete check and told them I needed a minimum of 6 months physio. After 6 months, they sent me back to their specialist who told them I needed another 6 months yet
Good doctor and excellent surgeon. Had my knee surgery in 1986 and haven't had to go back for another since.