Spotlight: The Health Care System.

[The-Screw]

3 days ago, i woke up with sharp pain in my right lung, i couldn't inhale and had trouble breathing, i didn't think much of it though, i just figured that i slept the wrong way or maybe pulled a muscle. around 9:15 am this morning, i checked into the emergency and this is what happened.


0915--Check in, 1 form, no ID, 5 minutes.

0927--Nurse calls me in for evaluation, blood pressure, temperature checks. proof of insurance.

0935- changed into hospital gown, checked into room 1. waiting to see doctor.

0950- Doctor comes in, i describe the symptons, answer family history and/or any health problems. Doctor ask for an X-ray.

1010- Nurse escorts me to the X-ray room, then back to room 1, waiting for doctor again.

1033-Doctors comes back, X-ray clean, no signs of anything. He suggests an EKG to check the heart.

1039-Nurse comes in with ekg machine, hooks me up, gets a print out, leaves.

1052-Doctors comes back in, still not showing any problems, suggests a blood test, also, nurse comes back with 2 pills, Vicodin (painkiller) and an Anti-inflammatory pill (i think, oh what do i know, i'm thinking about the needles) http://img526.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ivtz2.jpg

1104- Nurse comes in, takes 3 samples of blood, i couldn't help but notice that she had the biggest tits i've ever seen :} i couldn't even feel the needles, lool

1320- so after more than 2 hours of waiting for the results of the blood test to come back, laying in that hospital bed, the doctor comes in, and is puzzled about all this b/c he can't find anything wrong with me, the blood test comes back normal, the x-ray shows normal, the ekg shows normal, so finally he suggests a CT scan,

1400- Nurse comes back, pushes me down the hall to the radiology department, pulls the brakes and leaves me in front of the door, this is weird, you should have seen the look on some of the folks walking by me,

1410- I'm put on the Cat Scan bed, they give me Saline through an IV injection. i get this warm feeling like i'm laying down on an oven or something, there is also this feeling in my mouth like i just took a sip of hot coffee.

1425- Nurse takes me back to my room, waiting for doctor.

1500- ...still waiting, watching cnn.

1520- Finally the doctor comes back, still not sure whats going on with me, at this point, i'm thinking what the hell kind of hospital is this?! he makes a diagnosis, he says that it may be Pleurisy, a condition that can be caused by many things from the common flu to blood clots, he prescribes me something, says that i shouldn't be worried b/c it will probably go away in week or so.

1535- Check out time, :}

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now, aside from routine check ups, this is by far the longest i've ever been in a hospital, i was worried about the health care system in this country mostly b/c of the media, but i gotta say, from my experience, its pretty good. 8/10.

[Hard-Rock]

I don't have time to read all these but sure, the system is broke. Lets put Obama in office and he will fix it. Obama 08!

[Shirib]

I have severe asthma and have been hospitalized 6 times.

The ER sucks, unless they rush u in with an ambulance or u go in and ur pulse is so low that they admit u right away, but other wise its pretty good. They take care of u pretty good.

When I was younger I practically lived at the hospitals.Was there everyweek for quite a long span of time.

Now the healthcare system that the media is talking about insurance and how to pay for it, not the care u get.

[The-Screw]

shirib, i walked in, i guess the right insurance makes all the difference.

[Voltage]

Screw, emergency room waa nacalad. Two years ago my dad cut an overseas trip short cuz he got pretty sick. I mean this guy's face was swollen up and he looked nothing like he did before. The night him came he went to the emergency room and almost the same process that happened with you happened. It was back and for and back and forth until they finally decided it was an "inflammation" of sorts cuz they could find nothing wrong with his blood, etc. We went there around 12 and by this time it was almost 5. So they prescribed him anti-inflammation but my dad would not take it. He did not want anything based on chance. I don't remember now whatever he did or what he told them to do but you would have thought the spirit of Jesus descended on them when they figured out his arterial vein between his heart and brain was severally coagulated. Suffice to say they then got him on a therapy of anti-coagulation shots and he improved.

Waa layska celiyaa and never leave without forcing them to look at every single thing.

[Voltage]

Btw what insurance do you have and is it national?

[The-Screw]

Voltage, i know bro, its getting bad out there for average folks. something ought to be done about this. i have health insurance through my school sxb, http://shi.osu.edu/ lucky me huh,

[Mystic_Angel]

thank god screw that you didn't die in SA...lol

[Naaima]

[quote="Voltage"]Screw, emergency room waa nacalad..[/quote]

i repeat walahi!

screw, were you carrying your laptop by any chance since you know extacly the times things were taking place lol

[The-Screw]

loool, i could be off by a minute or 2 on the times, but i'm very good with numbers,

[Leila2007]

lol Screw

Hope you feel better

In the Uk the first time you see a GP he just suggests painkillers and you wont get any blood test or xrays. At least you know it is not something really bad after all those tests!

[1_londoner]

so how much did u have 2 pay?

[The-Screw]

Leila, yeah i know. thank god huh,

Londoner, i didn't pay anything.

[zulaika]

so who bites the bill screw? u got health insurance eh? how about for the millions without? pretty good is not how i'd describe the health care system in the US.

[Unclebin-]

You should come to Canada...> You show a card (OHIP) and you set it and forget it...

I had same breathing problems and I thought I was gonna have a heart attack... They gave me an ECG within 15 minutes and checked my blood pressure 15 minutes later....

No insurance or any of that nonsense.