tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post4080792013889912664..comments2024-03-27T00:11:52.568-07:00Comments on The Web-DVM TV, Radio & Blog: Want to reform human healthcare? Start by acting more like veterinarians!Roger Welton, DVMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15781509292213339950noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-29484253366286667912009-11-09T18:45:36.121-08:002009-11-09T18:45:36.121-08:00WHat but of "option" so people not get??...WHat but of "option" so people not get??? It is not the public mandate, but the public OPTION! All due respect, Dr. Anonymous, but your argument stinks. We already have public option flood insurance option, and that has not put any private insurers out of business. We have public higher education options with the subsidized state universites offering a quality, afforbale, college education, yet there are still plenty of takers for the private universities.<br /><br />France and Switzerland both have hybrid public and private health insurance systems, and the rpivate still stay very much in business, which their health care systems are both within the top 5 in the world. <br /><br />This whole slippery slope to government health care take over is the weakest argument out there, yet for some reason it gets the most play. Why does such a weak argument get so much play? Because that is all the opposition has - instilling fear and paranoia over some imagined socialist health care system. The same tactics were used to attempt to block Medicare 40 years ago - still waiting for that slippery slope!pw1974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-53724018420901158272009-11-08T17:34:47.851-08:002009-11-08T17:34:47.851-08:00Doc, if you really firmly believe that your bottom...Doc, if you really firmly believe that your bottom line does not influence that wonderful courtesy and service you provide, I believe you that you honestly think that - however, you are a bit delusional in that thought.<br /><br />Pw, I do agree that consumer choice is the key for any industry to keep itself honest, which is why I am full in favor of an inurance exchange across state lines. Why it is not that way already is beyond me. <br /><br />However, I am not in favor of the public option. Talk about lack of accoutability, the government takes the cake! Government entities do not have to balance their books, can run deficits, and act in a manner that would make the rest of us bankrupt. As such, the public option will NOT have to pay for itself through its members premiums as the deomcrats claim it will. And since it will not have to be paid for by premiums alone, taxes will go up to mend the debacle it is going to be. Also, because it will not have to be fiscally responsible, it will will offer rates that no private insurers can compete with, and little by little drum them out of the game. And one day in the not so far off future, we will find the goverment, that institution that is worse than any other on the planet for not having accountability, our only stinking option to insure ourselves.<br /><br />My vote, have the insurance exchange, let multiple companies compete across state lines like in the car insurance industry, stop right there, and let that lie for a few years. If that alone does not bring down premiums bringing more people into the system, as well as create a mandate where the insurance companies simply have to improve their services or not compete, then consider further reform.<br /><br />I suspect that competition alone would fix a heck of a lot - I'd be willing to wager that this would go a long way toward fixing what is wrong with our health insurance industry.Anonymous MDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-65778678660354201862009-11-08T12:55:37.534-08:002009-11-08T12:55:37.534-08:00Anonymous MD,
Thank you for your comments, you ma...Anonymous MD,<br /><br />Thank you for your comments, you make a good point to be sure. However, at least for myself, my associate, and my employees, our main motivation is not consumer choice primarily, our main motivation is that we like treating our patients and the people that love them well. <br /><br />We feel good when people leave our office with a smile, knowing that because of our actions, our behavior, and our care, they had a good experience. In a health care industry, vet or human, primary motivation should not be consumer choice, and they should not necessarily by default bahve like scoundrels just because their branch offers little choice!<br /><br />We have an affiliated emergency clinic that is the closest one to my office, with the other 20 miles from my office. We refer to them exclusively because with emergencies, time is often of the essence, and they are only 10 minutes away.<br /><br />Yet, you never see them remotely act like the human ER, treat you with apathy, and hold you hostage for hour on end with little answers. They are also a referral center with a borad certified neurologist and surgical specialist, the sureon being one of only 2 in the county, and the neurologist being the only one within 60 miles. Yet, never do they act like the specialist that I had to see.<br /><br />We do no forsake good care. good bedside manner, compassion, and a sense of decency, just because people lack choice in the matter. To act with only your bottom line as motivation, still gives our profession much greater integrity than yours.Roger Welton, DVMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781509292213339950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-71658245949602113872009-11-08T12:46:56.374-08:002009-11-08T12:46:56.374-08:00Okay, Anonymous MD, you make a very good point abo...Okay, Anonymous MD, you make a very good point about increasing consumer choices making an industry better. I did not want to go there, but isn't that what the democrats are trying to do with the insuance exchange and the public option in this health care reform bill? To create choices so that the insurance industry cannot act however despicably they want?<br /><br />In my state, there are 3 health insurance company options because that is all my state will allow to compete within it! It is the states that bloock other competition, and as a result, we are left with VERY little CHOICE! <br /><br />I say, pass the bill , and give us choice!pw1974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-33304024272270277062009-11-08T12:31:46.881-08:002009-11-08T12:31:46.881-08:00Dr. Welton,
I find it interesting that your bad e...Dr. Welton,<br /><br />I find it interesting that your bad experiences were with institutions where essentially, ther eis no cjoice. There is an emergency, you go to the nearest place. You need to see a very highly specialized physician where there are not many around, you go to the one that is there.<br /><br />I work in a the more common specialty of internal medicine, and like many in my specialty, incorporate alot of general and family medicine in my practice. Typicall, there are a few of us around in any given municipality, to like you, if we behaved like hethens, we too would be out of business and run out of town. <br /><br />You mentioned how please you were with your OBGYN, another more common specialty, where, were you treated poorly, you can likely find another option close by.<br /><br />Ont he flip side, when you are courteous and do a good job, you are rewarded with owrd of mouth referrals. <br /><br />Choices essentially make a profession better, and unfortunately when it comes to the ER and highly specialized phsycians, choice is taken out of teh equation, enabling them to act with impunity with few consequences.<br /><br />Veterinary medicine for the most part seems to offer choices to pet owners, with at least 3 veterinary clinics in my small city to choose from. This is why you are held to a higher standard than alot of human medicine. You are mandated to to continue to stay in business and thrive. But, to state that this is increasingly minority is hman medicine, is really unafir. Most of human medicine is by choice and, as such, we are bound by the same tennants as you. This includes internists like me, dermatologists, ENT, OBGYN, and any other field that is non-emergency, completely elective, and generally offers numerous choices.<br /><br />Great commentary, though, for you touched on a side a human medicine that is less than becoming, and unfortunately taints the profession for those of us who strive to do it right.Anonymous MDnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-51197598426814983982009-11-07T18:25:51.769-08:002009-11-07T18:25:51.769-08:00Hey Doc, I must say that the stories that you told...Hey Doc, I must say that the stories that you told are definately telling, but really are just the tip of the iceberg. I am sure that every person out there has stories just like that, and probably more numerous and worse. <br /><br />I say time and again that I wish my vet could also take care of my and my family's healthcare, because the care, the attention, the bedside manner, the courtesy, just kicks the crap out of any medical doctor I have EVER seen!kurt70noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-18220445285512736222009-11-07T18:25:18.431-08:002009-11-07T18:25:18.431-08:00I am so glad that you focused on the industry itse...I am so glad that you focused on the industry itself and not all the back and forth on health insurance reform going on in politics. Because the majority of us do have insurance, some of us EXCELLENT insurance, and STILL we cannot get treated with an ounce of decency by these arrogant bastards. The doc's stories are just the tip of the iceberg - I have so many bad stories between myself and my family, I could write for hours about it, and still not get to half of it. <br /><br />I love my veterinarian and his staff, and only wish that one day human health institutions, from the doctors to the receptionists, to the nurses, could treat their patients with just a fraction of the dedication, compassion, courtesy, and quality that my vet's hospital treats theirs.pw1974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1341776667634084741.post-72734042862678418512009-11-07T18:24:33.339-08:002009-11-07T18:24:33.339-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Roger Welton, DVMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781509292213339950noreply@blogger.com