5.22.2006

self-diagnosing

I'm going to bitch again about the health care in this country. I used to get strep throat and various flus a lot when I was little and that meant frequent trips to the local walk in medical clinic near my home. All we did was present my BC Care Card and I was in and out of there in a flash, no appointment and often at weird hours of the evening when normal doctors offices are closed. Now I'm sitting here on a Monday morning with an eyelid that has been swollen since Saturday morning. I've had eye infections before that usually just go away but this one got better towards the end of the day and worse in the morning after sleeping. So yeah, it's normal business hours and my medical clinic has no more available appointments for today, so I'm searching both Google and the Blue Cross site for walk-in clinics.

Alas there's no such thing outside of San Francisco. You either make an appointment or go to the hospital emergency with something that better be urgent. There is nothing in between, no after hours clinics, no walk-in clinics, nothing. Self-diagnosis is said to be dangerous and you should see a doctor bla bla bla, but what the hell are you supposed to do if the doctor can't see you? So http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-problems.htm is my last resort until I can see someone tomorrow at my medical center which is the only listed "urgent care" facility in town. Urgent my ass.

1 comment:

Junebug said...

i hate hate HATE US healthcare. But then again, if you have good insurance then it's great. it just sucks when you can't pay through your teeth (i.e. when you're a poor student). As for Canada, the situation here is getting alarming - my friend's dad was recently kicked out of the hospital because they were out of beds and needed his for a more sick person.