Sicko! This Time it's Personal

I had my own run-in with the health care industry today. It's not much of a story; I knew I had an infection, I knew I needed antibiotics, and that home remedies were not working. So, I called my doctor. He could fit me in, oh, how's September 10th for you? Not so good. I called my insurance provider, and found out that a QuickCare clinic would do just fine ($50 co-pay, OK, whatever).

I took a couple of hours off of work and drove several miles (the QuickCare near my house has been bulldozed to make more airport), and went into the clinic. Wow, depressing. It felt like a third-world country in that place. It was a roomful of mostly minorities (not casting aspersions here, just an observation), all looking fairly sad, many with babies. It really felt like a scene from Sicko.

Now, I'd like to point out to health care professionals that many Americans are unfamiliar with what to do and how to do it. We're coming into this cold. Would it be too much trouble to clearly lay out what you're supposed to do after you walk in the door? Several people were confused. Anyway, I put down my name, and waited patiently.

45 minutes in, and nature was calling in a big way. And I knew they were going to request a "sample." No choices, I went, and then heedless of the "no food, no drinks, no cell-phones" Xeroxed signage, I guzzled water for the next 45 minutes. By the way, Is Dr. Phil ordinarily on for two hours? I couldn't reach the TV to change the channel. Excruciating.

Nobody looked any happier as they filed out of the clinic, least of all the nurses. Not a healthy looking bunch, either. So, to shorten a rapidly lengthening story, I was told I had--exactly what I thought I had. And I was given a prescription for exactly what I thought I needed.

So, two hours off from work, two hours in a depressing clinic, $50 for the doctor, $10 for the prescription, 30 minutes to wait for the presecription, and I am finally back home. Not terrible, and many have far more arduous stories. But couldn't this somehow be easier?