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. . . and that kind of shit happens ALL the time--not just meds, but procedures, operations, hospital admissions. Besides a lengthy inclusion of an "informed consent" spiel to cover their arses, one of the biggest changes I've seen in the last few years is docs giving a detailed rationale for why they have to do something, i.e. not just pretending plastic surgery is a medically necessary procedure, but just about everything. As in. . . someone needing breast reconstruction after a mastectomy because, apparently, it's not enough that they want to look "normal," or a joint replacement only after they've failed an exhaustive trial of other therapies because why authorize surgery just because they have no cartilage left if it's cheaper to give them steroid injections or pain meds? It's disgusting.
Another thing that's bothered me for a long time is the difference in treatment people get from the VA. Many times they'll only be authorized for certain meds/generics, even if they don't work as well (as in your financés example, which is a common one). I rarely get through a shift where I haven't had at least one patient coming to a public hospital to pay out of pocket because the VA insisted upon something already proven not to work. New/expensive meds are most often not dispensed there because of the cost.
Bureaucracy has been coming between doctors and patients for far too long, and I've always found it amazing that people would defend the status quo based on the faulty reasoning that a govt. plan would be a huge change. Why would a change for the better be more frightening than what we have?
The biggest mystery to me is how insurance companies are allowed to practice medicine, which supposedly requires a medical license. If anyone else did this, they'd be arrested in no time, right?
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