Do You Think Doctors Are Worth Their Fees?

drkpower

Krieg wrote: »

Too expensive for me.

If you have a cold or flu, I just dont see the justification of €50 - 5mins, just to get anti-bio's. When the day comes that im in physical/chronic pain, then maybe ill book an appointment.

I think one major issue though is not the doctors, but the people.
I may be alone in this opinion but I find the Irish tend to be hypochondriacs. which means more people going to doctors for benign issues, using up a doctors time which could be spent on another patient.

What....? Like getting antibiotics for a cold/flu...?;)

drkpower

Greyfox wrote: »

their should be a fee of no more then €15 for when it's a straighforward in and out job! In Ireland you paying €50 or whatever it costs a lot of the time for a man to write something on a piece of paper!

And if its a 40 minute consultation, should it cost €100?

jigglywoo

Free college doctor FTW

Fighting Irish

kowloon wrote: »

My Grandmother used to go into the doctor and refuse to tell them what was wrong on the grounds that they were the doctor, let them figure it out. .

I've been misdiagnosed before, but when I went back I wasn't charged the second time on grounds that it was still the same issue.

I hate when aul ones take ages when they go in with the doc

vicecreamsundae

i went to a doctor a couple weeks ago to get a breast check, because i was worried i had a lump, even though im not in a particularly risky age group.

was in there five minutes, she gave me the quickest feel ever, and said that my breasts were "so dense" [firm cos theyre small and young?!] that it was hard to tell and to just come back if i notice anything different.
i was there cos the lump i thought i felt and the soreness seemed "different" in the first place. i went because i thought she could maybe give me a referral, but she said there was no point as mammograms are aparently pretty useless on young breasts.

i was expecting it to be about 40, but it was 60, which i thought was insane.

my family doctor is great though [in one sense]. he usually doesn't charge students at all for the usual things ..antibiotics and stuff, im sure he probably does for blood tests etc. and no matter what age you are, he doesnt charge for just prescriptions. i've been getting prescriptions for the pill from him for years for free, and my mom has been getting prescriptions for HRT for free too. and he doesnt make you wait, you can just phone him in advance and then show up to the back door and he'll hand you your prescription.

then again,maybe not the most responsible doctor. i've been on the pill nine years and he never once even suggested i get a pap. wasn't til i was in canada and went to get my pill they told me i needed one.

Hank_Jones

I honestly don't know how a basic GP can charge €60 for a visit which generally takes around 5-10 minutes.

So basically before tax they can make around minimum €400 in an hour.

I went to see a specialist in Dublin and was charged about €200 just for him to take a look at something on my leg.
He then brings me back to cut it off, another €300.
Then he sends that off for tests, before those tests come back he tells me I have cancer.
Cuts my leg up again, another €300.
Then he brings me back in a month later to have a look at my leg and show me test results, never had cancer in the first place.
Love those doctors...

Hank_Jones

Hank_Jones wrote: »

I honestly don't know how a basic GP can charge €60 for a visit which generally takes around 5-10 minutes.

So basically before tax they can make around minimum €400 in an hour.

I went to see a specialist in Dublin and was charged about €200 just for him to take a look at something on my leg.
He then brings me back to cut it off, another €300.
Then he sends that off for tests, before those tests come back he tells me I have cancer.
Cuts my leg up again, another €300.
Then he brings me back in a month later to have a look at my leg and show me test results, never had cancer in the first place.
Love those doctors...

I hope you didnt start chemo in the mean time :eek:

Hank_Jones

Deleted User wrote: »

I hope you didnt start chemo in the mean time :eek:

I didn't start anything.

He should have just waited for the results before jumping to conclusions is all.

The word malignant isn't something you want to hear at age 24.

Considering I had quit smoking about 10 months before, I really thought I was fcuked.

unreggd

It's a load of bollix

We should at least get 2 free checkups a year on PRSI

Or, the checkup is free but then you pay for procedures

Greyfox

drkpower wrote: »

And if its a 40 minute consultation, should it cost €100?

No, then the standard €60 should be enough and more if something else is needed. In this country loads of people like myself don't go to a doctor because they can't afford to go, how is that fair?

unreggd

That's what I hate about Ireland

Everything we get taxed for, we have to pay ourselves anyways

andy winter

NO.

Along with bank executives, goverment ministers, blah blah

chocgirl

Just wondering are the people who only get 5 minutes with their GP people who go all the time. I've never been less than half an hour with my GP and have never felt rushed out. She always takes time to update all my details on the system as well and advise/lecture about different issues unrelated to my initial complaint. Do notice that some people do seem to fly in and out though.

So basically, I don't mind spending 60 euro because I don't go that often and it is money well spent.

Gannicus

I know what you mean OP i know for a fact that i have a massive chest infection and I am not paying €60 to be told something I ALREADY know and given a prescription for €20 worth of antibiotics. The medical service in this country is ridiculous. I'd rather let it run s its course or let it get worse and THEN if needs be pay the same amount of money for the doctor and antibiotics. They should do a fee for a quick look over for stuff like this €20 abouts, my mate has a doctor that doesn't charge for repeat visits for the same ailment but when i went to him he's not taking on any new patients so that was the little gold nugget that turned out to be worthless

Gannicus

Hank_Jones wrote: »

I honestly don't know how a basic GP can charge €60 for a visit which generally takes around 5-10 minutes.

So basically before tax they can make around minimum €400 in an hour.

I went to see a specialist in Dublin and was charged about €200 just for him to take a look at something on my leg.
He then brings me back to cut it off, another €300.
Then he sends that off for tests, before those tests come back he tells me I have cancer.
Cuts my leg up again, another €300.
Then he brings me back in a month later to have a look at my leg and show me test results, never had cancer in the first place.
Love those doctors...

Sue dude. a ptsd claim easiest ever way to get compo especially since it seems like he got his licence in a box of coco pops

jdooley28

I just avoid going to the GP if possible way too expensive.

Piste

jayteecork wrote: »

I think €60 might be a fair price for an expert's opinion for a 20 minute consultation.

However you must remember that a lot of GPs may or not may be failed consultants. You must also remember that a lot of them did medicine for the sole reason that "they had the points" They might have had a aptitude for memorising typical leaving cert questions but none whatsoever for being a decent health care physician.

Do you have absolutely any evidence to back this up? Out of my class of 250, I haven't met one who did it because they "had the points". That whole argument's ridiculous anyway as you apply to do medicine long before you even know what points you have. Everyone I know in my year worked hard to get there and deserves to be there. Also, medicine is NOTHING like the Leaving Cert. Practical skills are taught from day one, we have two modules in dealing with patients, a practical one and a psychology/sociology one- and this is even before we're put into a hospital- to familiarise ourselves with different attitudes and mindsets patients have. Anyone who goes into medicine thinking all they have to do is rote learning wont make it through the year.



The reason GPs' fees are so high is because of the growing culture of litigation in this country, as evidenced by the post below:

Big Steve wrote: »

Sue dude. a ptsd claim easiest ever way to get compo especially since it seems like he got his licence in a box of coco pops

Remember, your €50 goes to pay malpractice insurance, training fees, secretary fees and property rent, it's not all pocketed by the GP. I do agree that they're prohibitively high though, it would be nice to have a cap on GP fees like there is with the Drug Paymet Scheme whereaby patients pay around €30 and the government pays the rest (or rather, we pay the rest through our taxes).

Dr_Phil

MCMLXXV wrote: »

The lawyer thread kicked this one off for me. Went to a doctor about 6 weeks ago due to a mild sort of dermatitis / exscema or whatever. Prescribed me some cream and charged me €55 - fair enough.

The cream worked maybe 90% but the problem didn't disappear completely so I called the docs office and explained and asked for a prescription for more cream. The doc called me back and said I would have to come in and he would try another cream. Cool, I said, and went in after work. He had another quick gawk, less than 5 mins, and prescribed another cream saying to call him if this one didn't clear it up completely. I was sitting in the waiting room for longer than the time he examined me but he still charged me another €40! :eek:

IMO the most he should have charged me was €10 for the new prescription. I understand he probably spent seven years in college in order to practice his profession but is 5 mins consultation worth €40, i.e. €8 per minute!?!

Well, 60 quid for "Get yourself a cup of tea and you'll be grand!" seems to be quite dear to me...

spudmonkey17

Pisses me off when you miss work/college due to illness and u have to go in and pay your doctor €50 so he can reassure you that you're sick (no sh1t...) and then give you a sick cert for work/college.

Ah, long gone are the primary school days when a badly forged note from your "mammy" was sufficient proof of sickness... :pac:

Piste

Yeah that annoys me so much, especially if the sickness is something obvious, like food poisoning, and you know all you need is rest and to sleep it off. Happened to me, we need sick notes for some college things, I came down with food poisoning and was too sick to go to the doctor, by the time I'd recovered, I was too well to go to the doctor, so there was no point.

drkpower

Greyfox wrote: »

No, then the standard €60 should be enough and more if something else is needed. In this country loads of people like myself don't go to a doctor because they can't afford to go, how is that fair?

And if the consultation takes 1 hour, should the rate still be €50/60?
Or if a doc goes on a house call, and it takes 1.30 round trip, should it still be €50/60?

The system is a flat rate for a reason; so that people who have a more serious illness/more problems/require a house call are not punitively charged. Now that means that someone who has a strep throat and needs antibiotics gets screwed. But the alternative is worse.

Of course, there are many, like Grey Fox, who ingeniously come up with the suggestion that the fee should be low when the consultation is 5 minutes, yet shouldnt go above €50 if the ocnsultation is more than 1 hour. So, tell me, if you are a taxi driver, will you charge no more than €20 even if the ride takes 1 hour? Or swap 'taxi driver' for any other job and see how ridiculous your idea is. I am all for reducing the costs of a GP visit, but coming up with moronic suggestions like the one above will only result in a per minute charge, which is in noones interests.

JuliusCaesar

FFS. These threads annoy me so much. You all complain, but will one of you ever send a complaint to Mary Harney? No. It's too difficult. Minister's_Office@health.irlgov.ie

Make up your minds. Do you want GPs to be free of charge? Do you want an NHS type service? Then you'll have to pay more tax/PRSI to pay for it.

Remember they are private businesses, and have to pay their employees - practice nurse, receptionist, bookkeeper, accountant, premises rent, insurance etc all out of the charge you pay.

I seem to remember some statistic showing that people who accessed their GP free of charge tended to go more often, unnecessarily. "oh I've got a sniffle, can I have an antibiotic?"

And don't forget, the "aul ones" tend to have more wrong with them....

And whoever said PTSD is a great complaint - not when you get to meet the specialist! (Unless you are genuine, and then it's not such fun to have either.)

I'm not a GP but I do work in health.

Hank_Jones

spudmonkey17 wrote: »

Pisses me off when you miss work/college due to illness and u have to go in and pay your doctor €50 so he can reassure you that you're sick (no sh1t...) and then give you a sick cert for work/college.

Ah, long gone are the primary school days when a badly forged note from your "mammy" was sufficient proof of sickness... :pac:

This is something that really irritates me.
If I have a chest infection or the flu (or most regular sicknesses), I know exactly what I have to do with regards to medicating myself and keeping hydrated.
Yet I have to go and see a doctor who will most likely just give me a prescription for some steroids and tell me to get some rest.

Basically paying €60 for a piece of fcuking paper that you can hand to your boss....when anything the doctor tells me is pretty much common knowledge..

JuliusCaesar

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Basically paying €60 for a piece of fcuking paper that you can hand to your boss....when anything the doctor tells me is pretty much common knowledge..

It's your boss who insists on it....otherwise you could just self-certificate it.

Jesus Wept

This thread was an eye opener for me regarding not wasting money at the pharmacy.

I just learned today that pharmacies have a "dispensing" fee and on cheaper medication this makes up a high % of final price. For example, a 3 month supply was about €25, but a 6 month supply was €34. As far as I know, a months supply is about €13 so it can be quite a saving in the long run and also saves you having to go every month!

Pretty certain this applies to the pill, etc

1071823928

my doctor is absolutely brilliant!!! he never rushes me and spends a good 20-30 minutes listening to all my complaints and questions!!!! i always feel iv gotten my moneys worth. he always gives me a sticker too! if people think their doctor rushes them they should try change to a different doctor, its a lot of money so you should spend it on a doctor that you feel is helping you.

Noreen1

It depends on the doctor. A dedicated doctor is well worth 50 or 60 euro, especially if you have a serious problem.
I have to say that I am very happy with my doctor, he really is excellent.
Having said that, I did have a nasty experience with a "locum" who was brought in while one of the regular GPs was on holiday. My own GP was horrified! I was sufficiently concerned at the dosage prescribed to a child that I called to my GPs house when he was off-duty (a once in a lifetime occurrence). He was brilliant, examined the patient, prescribed a different dosage - all at no charge, during a holiday period.

Don't tar them all with the same brush, just because they practice the same profession.

It's worth remembering that many doctors also have their own areas of expertise.........

Noreen