Doctors, nurses, cna's, lpn's, volunteers, and everone that works in healthcare-

[ohgood]

Thanks, for never settling for 'good enough'.

Thanks, for showing up, willing to work those long hours.

Thanks, for trying a little harder to make people comfortable.

Thanks, for -not- just doing what is required, but doing so much more than you signed on for.

If you think for a moment you're not noticed, appreciated, and needed, please think again.

- me n my boy

[The Buddha]

No no ... definetly ... definetly ... just wait till the bill arrives ...
Cool.
Buddha.

[ohgood]

No no ... definetly ... definetly ... just wait till the bill arrives ...
Cool.
Buddha.

it's like, getting hit with a tree branch, only to learn the rest of the tree is coming down on you. ya, but worth it. all of it.

[jserio]

the people who work in the industry(doctors, nurses etc) get mad props. it's not them that's screwing you come bill time. (most of the time) it's the insurance company. 

[The Buddha]

You know what ... In India ... you pay the doc and leave ... that is it, they dont even know your home address. The $$$ ones, starve, the cheaper and not so good ones get a flood of somple ailments and are swamped, and the good and still reasonable ones get lots of patients and make serious $$$ ... but in the end ... capitalism ... not weird ass beureaucracy that keeps everyone seperated from one another and a third party bill both the patient and the doctor ...

Want lower cost health care and lower cost medications. Delete the entire insurance BS. You also save 1000's of hours of administrative paperwork and countless hours spent doing BS on both sides. No medicare, no medicaid, no nothing ... BTW all the people going to India for surgery from the US ... not really increased the cost in India for medical treatment really, just the hotels and accomodations for them have gotten $$ at the upper end. Most of the third world works this way. Costs skyrocket when more people are involved that just push paper ... if your file has some clown looking at ti for a hour at some lameo insurance company, then that is $50 or so you have paid ... indirect or direct ... it is.

Only problem is ... idiots there are trying to copy this system. We are stupid to not know what we have going.

Cool.
Buddha.

[alois71]

I am an Emergency Room doctor.
I will just say this. IT would be a hell of a lot cheaper if I wasn't afraid of getting sued all day long!

[yamahonkawazuki]

I am an Emergency Room doctor.
I will just say this. IT would be a hell of a lot cheaper if I wasn't afraid of getting sued all day long!

Indeed, and probably easier on your blood pressure. casue most of the suits are trivial BS, borderline fraudulent at times

[The Buddha]

Health care: we dont need universal health care, we need pay as you leave the doctors office health care. We cannot have doctors doing paper work out the wazoo and we cannot have them buy $$$ insurance against lawyers, and we cannot have them negotiated by insurance companies, its just over head. Food is inexpensive, mainly because we dont finance it and have it paid for by someone else and we can look and see and just buy what we like at the price we like. In fact I contend that McDonalds with their 1 price across the country, are hurting consumers in cheaper areas and benifitting ones in expensive areas. But I would like to see a price list on a doctors office. Or like in India, they say, consultation is 10 bucks for ~15 minutes with the doctor. Injection is 5 bucks + cost of the medication, x ray this or that is so much etc etc ... of course doctors do care about people they see 100's of times, and they do what each person is requiring etc etc etc ... Pity ... here your doctor may want to do soemhting but insurance wont let them.
The place it hurts though, you wont have serious advances come to your local doctors office the instant its out on the market. However lets face it, the expensive and new crap usually is superfluous and its perfectly fine to use older stuff.
Cool.
Buddha.

I posted this on that other thread, but it prolly belongs here.
Worse than insurance ... the ridiculous loans these people have to pay off. In india only the top 5% of their class have an option to even go to medical school. Those that do end up within that window, become very very good doctors, and have no debt. I know of people who actually go to villages and do house calls free. The last thing India needs to be doing is to copy the american healthcare system.
In a way there is a need for insurance because we have let any one who can pay into medical school, not just the ones that really really want this.
BTW India is famous for weeding out all but the smartest people from being engineers, pharmacists ... any field ... start counting and before you get to the 90'th percentile you'd be done ... OK That was harsh ... but in all reality, past the top 1/4th the rest dont have a prayer at anything of any value in education.
BTW its not socialism ... its true un-mediated and non-bureaucratic capitalism. If you have to pay, you immediatly go to ... OK how much am I paying and what do I get for that much $$$.
We have a 100 years ... try 10000 years of that. We cant try it 1 month here and drop it next month. In the first month ... everyone gonna be confused and lawyers are going to scream like maniacs ... slowly they'd realise that they are useless and go back to swindling at other places. Like taxes, or immigration. BTW that is the next shoe to fall.
Cool.
Buddha.

[alois71]

To add to budda.

When i was done with med school I had 250000 in loans... it is down to around 200000 now. I am still in residency and get paid around 46000 grand... I work AT LEAST 70 hours a week but closer to 90 hours a week. When I get a job I will make around 250000... 80 grand going to malpractice.... and a boat load gonig to student loans... licensing etc... And then I have to pay for PA's staff... etc....
I would rather make less revenue and have less headache! and so would alot of other docs. the amount of documenting I have to do after work is ridiculous!

[The Buddha]

Yea I know the approximate numbers. I know of some people who 10 years after graduation, still ahve 35K in loans and he barely makes 35K.
Now - You want to cry ...
A software engineer in most of the US will make 40-50K with literally no experience. Make that over 120K with 5 years and possibly over 200K with 10 years in the high $$$ financial sector, SF or NY or similar places. And ... if they were educated in India they would have graduated with 0 debt. And most of them, all day long - 40hrs a week sit at their desks cruising gstwin ... and doing a bit of work here and there.

I studied civil engineering, and my first job I learnt programming and database etc etc some concepts still are shaky for me cos I was not formally educated. Like my brother who is a comp science graduate will run circles around me in some stuff. So 3 years after I graduated - 1994 was the year I am talking about, I graduated in 91, I made 36,000 a year in rural washington state - spokane. Literally ... I'd send some $$ home, but my mom didn't need it so she ask me to save $, I had just gotten married and we had no way to spend money cos well ... there was very little entertainment in eastern WA then ... I almost had to learn to spend $$ ...
If I had made some different career choices I'd be easily making 150K now ... but I opted out of that much stress quite inadvertently. But ... the point it, no way the US can compete, there is no way an education should cost more than what you make the year you walk out with that degree. In India, I made 36,000 rs the year I graduated ... and my college cost inder 10,000 rs per year ...
In US college education is really really over blown. Its over advertised, its seen as somehting to aspire ti ... and its touted as a fail proof method of getting somewhere.
Its even more true in India, and even worse, if you're not in engineering or medicine, you'd fall off the face of the earth and no one will even notice. And they are priced accordingly ... most probably the year after you graduate with an arts degree, you'd be broke and unemployed and living at home. Therefore, its cost is close to ... 0. Doctors in 91 would ahve made ~50K rs, and that was the cost of 5 years of med school.
Cool.
Buddha.

[ohgood]

Yea I know the approximate numbers. I know of some people who 10 years after graduation, still ahve 35K in loans and he barely makes 35K.
Now - You want to cry ...
A software engineer in most of the US will make 40-50K with literally no experience. Make that over 120K with 5 years and possibly over 200K with 10 years in the high $$$ financial sector, SF or NY or similar places. And ... if they were educated in India they would have graduated with 0 debt. And most of them, all day long - 40hrs a week sit at their desks cruising gstwin ... and doing a bit of work here and there.

I studied civil engineering, and my first job I learnt programming and database etc etc some concepts still are shaky for me cos I was not formally educated. Like my brother who is a comp science graduate will run circles around me in some stuff. So 3 years after I graduated - 1994 was the year I am talking about, I graduated in 91, I made 36,000 a year in rural washington state - spokane. Literally ... I'd send some $$ home, but my mom didn't need it so she ask me to save $, I had just gotten married and we had no way to spend money cos well ... there was very little entertainment in eastern WA then ... I almost had to learn to spend $$ ...
If I had made some different career choices I'd be easily making 150K now ... but I opted out of that much stress quite inadvertently. But ... the point it, no way the US can compete, there is no way an education should cost more than what you make the year you walk out with that degree. In India, I made 36,000 rs the year I graduated ... and my college cost inder 10,000 rs per year ...
In US college education is really really over blown. Its over advertised, its seen as somehting to aspire ti ... and its touted as a fail proof method of getting somewhere.
Its even more true in India, and even worse, if you're not in engineering or medicine, you'd fall off the face of the earth and no one will even notice. And they are priced accordingly ... most probably the year after you graduate with an arts degree, you'd be broke and unemployed and living at home. Therefore, its cost is close to ... 0. Doctors in 91 would ahve made ~50K rs, and that was the cost of 5 years of med school.
Cool.
Buddha.

and then start looking at the 'fat' of american schools. football, trips, huge new gymnasiums, campuses on the best (most expensive) parts of town.



we just got home from Dallas, my son has ten fingers and toes now. we're using very little pain medication (kids r tough) and it's really nice to be home.

yes, he's fine, there are just surgeries he has to submit to.

if anyone wants to make a contribution to a worthy cause, please do so at your local Shriners hospital, Children's hospital, The World Craniofacial center nearest you, or just volunteer.

alois71- a little history (if you ever have time for some reading) our son was born with Apert Syndrome. Apert.org should cover it, but it's an interesting spontaneous genetic mutation if you're into research. There are other very similar Syndromes. Thanks again for what you do. Your hours, expense, and willingness to work very, very hard is appreciated- By someone, right now.

we're blessed.

[jserio]

glad to hear your boy is doing well! i'm guessing he's not old enough for beer so i'll have one for him.     


as a side note, it kills me to see people spend 40k on college and graduate and get a $10/hour job.      i make $17.40 as a machinist with no college. now, had i gone to take even a 2year engineering degree i could be making tons more but you know. live and learn. i've got room at my company for advancement. what i didn't go to college for i can learn with hands on experience and use that to move up when the time comes. 

[cafeboy]

glad to hear your boy is doing well! i'm guessing he's not old enough for beer so i'll have one for him.     

[yamahonkawazuki]

same here. btw have you got a pic of the little angel? heres another e-beer and a wish of good luck and health. the shriners are awesome btw 

[ohgood]

glad to hear your boy is doing well! i'm guessing he's not old enough for beer so i'll have one for him.     


as a side note, it kills me to see people spend 40k on college and graduate and get a $10/hour job.      i make $17.40 as a machinist with no college. now, had i gone to take even a 2year engineering degree i could be making tons more but you know. live and learn. i've got room at my company for advancement. what i didn't go to college for i can learn with hands on experience and use that to move up when the time comes. 

beer is proof god loves us and wants us to be happy. - ben franklin (thanks!)

i know the feeling about "i should be doing more" as a machinist myself.

same here. btw have you got a pic of the little angel? heres another e-beer and a wish of good luck and health. the shriners are awesome btw 

pictures ? only 10-12,000 ! no, not kidding.

here his is completely pissed off after his first finger separation surgery 8 months ago:


and a few days ago after his second surgery:


I won't post the surgery/recovery pic's on this forum, or any other than medical specific. it's just not nice. imagine having your hands split with an axe up past your wrist, stuffed with gause, wrapped in casts for weeks, then having gause stuffed in the gap 3 times a day.

kids are -tough-.

[spc]

Glad the little man is doing good ohgood!!  Medical personnel really are awesome, especially the ones in the ER.  Everytime I've been I end up going into this pissy little defense mode where I get aggressive as hell and don't cooperate with anything yet they just go about things like it's business as usual.      A beer for your son and another for the great docs and nurses that make so many things possible