are doctors overrated?

smash

opinion guy wrote: »

27 and managed a large medical practice for a few years ????
How did you manage that ?

Like a boss!

IrishZeus

opinion guy wrote: »

27 and managed a large medical practice for a few years ????
How did you manage that ?

I started working in the practice and moved from admin to Practice Manager to Business Manager in the space of 11 months due to people above me leaving and moving on. I then stayed in the job myself for a few years before moving on.

Quite simple really.

Fuinseog

MaxSteele wrote: »

It shouldn't cost 50 euro to be told to get painkillers or antibiotics which cost another 10 or 12 or if you need to visit a consultant, cardiologist, neurologist etc.

Doctor fee's are extortionate.

it did not cost me 50 euro. it cost me 60. the worst part is that he took my money but gave the impression that he could not be bothered. paying customers are a burden to some.
you need to shop around with the chemist as well. prices differ for the same products.
with certain pills and tablets you can walk into a chemist in France and other EU countries and buy it off the shelf, while here it may only be available on prescription.
the pharmaceutical industry is screwing us.

Dr Bollocko, is definately overrated.

Soups123

tommyboy2222 wrote: »

Don't think doctors are overrated but I think sometimes they refer you to consultants too hastily.

I found some bumps on my chest so I went to the doctor. She checks them out and says "Ah there's nothing there but I'll refer you to a consultant".

I go to the consultant and he checks them out and tells me "You've nothing wrong with you and your doctor thinks so too".

I didn't mind paying the 60 euro for the doctor but I'm not so sure about the 150 for the consultant.

Are doctors just covering their arses ? Is it a cash making scheme ?

Am I being too harsh ?? :pac:

You found bumps on your chest? your doctor refers you to a specialist you get an all clear and your complaining about 150 for guaranteed piece of mind??? Seriously

Soups123

Soups123 wrote: »

You found bumps on your chest? your doctor refers you to a specialist you get an all clear and your complaining about 150 for guaranteed piece of mind??? Seriously

Well if it was just man tits, then you have to admit he was ripped off.

Soups123

Fuinseog wrote: »

I was feeling under the weather recently and decided to seek out a GP. I paid 60 euro for a consultation that did not last 5 mins and for advice that I already knew and could have easily googled. The good doctor seemed to be somewhat condescending but I was too sick to argue.
I think in this day and age when people are more informed they are less likely to put up with any BS from doctors. teachers and guards are heavily criticised in the media but why not the medical profession?

I notice the older generation consider doctors as gods gift to mankind and some of them believe they are.

He was probably condesending because you came in cock sure you knew what was wrong with you probably referencing a self diagnosis using Google. The amount of people I hear saying I think I have 'X' because I checked the symptons on Google, that must piss doctors off no end.

I reckon there are more problems/deaths for people because they find a google reference that tells them they are fine rather than going to a GP.

Also go to your chemist mine is brilliant for the more day to day stuff like feeling under the weather, I'd never go the doctor with flu!

Sarky

You're free to avoid going to a doctor. Google's right there, have fun diagnosing yourself with early stage Crohn's disease.

If you don't like paying fifty quid to be told there's nothing really wrong with you, then don't bloody go to a doctor when there's nothing really wrong with you.

juan.kerr

tommyboy2222 wrote: »

Don't think doctors are overrated but I think sometimes they refer you to consultants too hastily.

I found some bumps on my chest so I went to the doctor. She checks them out and says "Ah there's nothing there but I'll refer you to a consultant".

I go to the consultant and he checks them out and tells me "You've nothing wrong with you and your doctor thinks so too".

I didn't mind paying the 60 euro for the doctor but I'm not so sure about the 150 for the consultant.

Are doctors just covering their arses ? Is it a cash making scheme ?

Am I being too harsh ?? :pac:

Surely it was your decision to make the appointment with the consultant? You didn't have to go so could have 'saved' yourself 150 euro.

Soups123

RVP 11 wrote: »

Well if it was just man tits, then you have to admit he was ripped off.

He deserves to pay 200 if he's going to the doctor with Moobs

Cienciano

It's a pain in the hoop going to a doctor to get a perscription for something simple. Especially an ongoing perscription, or a doctors note.
My doctor only charges €35 though.

BillyMitchel

My doc is worth is weight in gold but 60 bills at the same time which is pretty expensive. He's helped members of my family with home vists free of charge. If you're sick he's there 24 hrs a day but if you go over because you blew your nose and are looking for a week off work he'll march you out of his office and say rest and will not give you the note.

These days I have a friend who's a surgeon and in times of need Id ask her first for a quick free diagnoses she tells me to stop smoking, rest and drink plenty of water!

MaxSteele

Sarky wrote: »

You're free to avoid going to a doctor. Google's right there, have fun diagnosing yourself with early stage Crohn's disease.

If you don't like paying fifty quid to be told there's nothing really wrong with you, then don't bloody go to a doctor when there's nothing really wrong with you.

Or ..... doctor's could just stop ripping people out of 50 to 60 euro for a 5 minute check up.

Surely 25 or 30 euro is more than enough for not even 10 minutes of their time.

Gael23

Yes I agree its expensive but can you put a price on your health? If you ignored something and it turned out to be something serious could you ever forgive yourself?
I've been to a few diffrent GPs over the years, the last one I left because the practice was constantly expanding and it was nearly impossible to get an appointment and when you did they had so many paitents to see they couldnt get you out fast enough. Left there and moved to a much smaller practice and theres a huge difference , they are interested in you and actually give you the time of day rather than push you out the door with a prescription.

bluecode

Yes in my opinion, they're all very good at the common ailments. But when it comes to the tough stuff. They send you to the hospital where the Doctor there tells the nurse to take a lot of samples and send them to the lab for analysis.

When the results come back they now know what's not wrong with you. So they take more samples for different tests. Eventually one test turns up positive and bingo. Then the treat you for that or tell you're going to die.

Actually the person most underrated is the Medical Scientist in the Laboratory who actually found out what's wrong with you. Ok I'm biased being married to one.

angeline

My doctor is priceless to me. I can talk to my doctor about absolutely anything and it's like visiting a friend. Always supportive no matter what the issue.

Grayson

angeline wrote: »

My doctor is priceless to me. I can talk to my doctor about absolutely anything and it's like visiting a friend. Always supportive no matter what the issue.

Same here.

I honestly owe my life to doctors on more than one occasion.

Plus with my GP they have two consultation fees. One is for a diagnosis fee. the other is for a sick note (where you walk in with a streaming nose and sore throat ans say "I have a cold"), prescription etc.. Pretty much if they don't do much it's half price.

RaRaRasputin

So far I haven't come across a good doctor in this country but there might be a few fine specimen out there

Fuinseog

Soups123 wrote: »

He was probably condesending because you came in cock sure you knew what was wrong with you probably referencing a self diagnosis using Google. The amount of people I hear saying I think I have 'X' because I checked the symptons on Google, that must piss doctors off no end.

I reckon there are more problems/deaths for people because they find a google reference that tells them they are fine rather than going to a GP.

Also go to your chemist mine is brilliant for the more day to day stuff like feeling under the weather, I'd never go the doctor with flu!

as I said in another thread people are more informed these days and likely to challenge what he says and more importantly ask questions.
sometimes they can merely guess at what is wrong and makes a hames of things.

Fuinseog

Cienciano wrote: »

It's a pain in the hoop going to a doctor to get a perscription for something simple. Especially an ongoing perscription, or a doctors note.
My doctor only charges €35 though.

the medication you need could possibly be purchased over the counter in another country and at a cheaper price?
I have been fortunate enough not to have been seriously ill in my life and as a result have rarely been to a doctor. maybe they give regular customers a discount?

Fuinseog

angeline wrote: »

My doctor is priceless to me. I can talk to my doctor about absolutely anything and it's like visiting a friend. Always supportive no matter what the issue.

good to have one like that.

Sarky

MaxSteele wrote: »

Or ..... doctor's could just stop ripping people out of 50 to 60 euro for a 5 minute check up.

Surely 25 or 30 euro is more than enough for not even 10 minutes of their time.

Then hit them in their allegedly overstuffed wallets; Don't go. You send a message and save money, and they get 10 minutes extra to treat people with actual problems. Or maybe they get to go home at a reasonable hour and actually spend some time relaxing. Or maybe they just get a single night of uninterrupted sleep.

Colmustard

Depends, GPs are little more then administrators, a kind of triage service, for when you are sick they send you to the hospital.

But GPs still know more then me.

If I had it again I would have went into medicine, that is if I had the discipline and intelligence.

kylith

It's about shopping around for a good doctor. I was getting recurring kidney infections and my doctor was just throwing a week's worth of antibiotics at me. Because I felt he should be doing more I went to a different practise, got better antibiotics, problem solved. I went there when I was having difficulty shifting weight and they took bloods, gave me a thorough exam, found the underlying cause. I went with a bit of a sore leg and had a 30 minute in depth examination before referral to a physio.

My doctors (it's a practise so you never know who you'll get) are great, except for the lectures about my smoking but that's probably par for the course.

hoochis

Why do so many people begrudge doctors? They make a lot of money but the majority of them do deserve it. If it is such an overpayed profession then why are there not a lot more people becoming doctors? Easy, because most will not have the determination it takes to get 600 points in their leaving cert! If you are not happy to pay to see the doctor then don't go. Its only your health.

Temptamperu

I always go to the net first, if its serious i go the doctors/hospital if not a few ibuprofen and some paracetamol followed by drinking plenty of fluids... because its hard to drink solids I suppose.

MaxSteele

Sarky wrote: »

Then hit them in their allegedly overstuffed wallets; Don't go. You send a message and save money, and they get 10 minutes extra to treat people with actual problems. Or maybe they get to go home at a reasonable hour and actually spend some time relaxing. Or maybe they just get a single night of uninterrupted sleep.

Yes ... because I feel doctor's overcharge means my visit to them is for minor, unnecessary paranoia. Like this time last year when I had heart trouble. :rolleyes:

My family doctor works 9 to 5 on weekdays like most other people do. Weekend's off. While I appreciate and admire his profession, I don't think it's much to ask to maybe charge at a reasonable price like 30 euro a visit, considering the number of patients he receives each day.

SleepDoc

MaxSteele wrote: »

Yes ... because I feel doctor's overcharge means my visit to them is for minor, unnecessary paranoia. Like this time last year when I had heart trouble. :rolleyes:

My family doctor works 9 to 5 on weekdays like most other people do. Weekend's off. While I appreciate and admire his profession, I don't think it's much to ask to maybe charge at a reasonable price like 30 euro a visit, considering the number of patients he receives each day.

So he should charge you less because he sees lots of patients?

It's not a charity.

Carson10

No i do not think Doctors are over rated, but perhaps yes the fees are a little high.

It seems simple yes that when you go with a cold, that the consultation only last 5 min, but they might spot something you wont see on the net.

I think you should just be thankful that all that worries you when you walk away from the Dr is a mumble about the fee.

MaxSteele

SleepDoc wrote: »

So he should charge you less because he sees lots of patients?

It's not a charity.

So 30 euro for 5 or 10 mins of their time is charity ?

Sorry, but you're local GP doesn't need to be charging 50 to 60 euro for every patient. I'd say a lot of them make more in a day or two than your average joe would in a week.

hattoncracker

My childhood doctor misdiagnosed me when I was a kid, it took three weeks for him to diagnose pneumonia, and I spent a week in hospital.

he's in his 70s and still practising. When my sister went to him last year with stomach pains he told her to go on a diet, and when she went to another doctor in his practice she diagnosed her with a massive stomach infection which would have killed her in two weeks.

I went back to him last year when I was pregnant and vomiting blood and he laughed in my face. I didn't continue with the pregnancy for other reasons, and decided I'd never go to him again, because I knew he would give me the insults/murderer routine.

I got a new doctor, young enough, in her late twenties. It took me a year before I'd go to another GP, and she's very good, and so lovely.

the right doctor is worth any money, the wrong ones should not be allowed treat people.

molly bronski

For every private patient that attends, there are (in most practices) two or three medical card patients. The GP gets a fixed fee for the year for them. They are a lot more inclined to come in with trivialities as it's a free service so it's not like to GP is seeing private patients all day long and rolling around in dosh.

El_Dangeroso

MaxSteele wrote: »

So 30 euro for 5 or 10 mins of their time is charity ?

Sorry, but you're local GP doesn't need to be charging 50 to 60 euro for every patient. I'd say a lot of them make more in a day or two than your average joe would in a week.

Paying patients effectively subsidise medical card patients because GPs get feck all for them and they go a LOT more to the doctor than paying stiffs.

Having said that, I know a good few hospital docs who look down on GPs for taking the 'easy way out'. One guy told me he knows a GP who rakes in about 400K per year.

Becoming a consultant requires giving up about a decade of your working life.

invinciblePRSTV

Are doctors overrated? No.

Are Irish doctors and the rest of the medical professions as a whole overpaid? Yes.

MaxSteele

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Paying patients effectively subsidise medical card patients because GPs get feck all for them and they go a LOT more to the doctor than paying stiffs.

Having said that, I know a good few hospital docs who look down on GPs for taking the 'easy way out'. One guy told me he knows a GP who rakes in about 400K per year.

Becoming a consultant requires giving up about a decade of your working life.

Becoming a GP you mean ?

El_Dangeroso

MaxSteele wrote: »

Becoming a GP you mean ?

Nope, a consultant, as in becoming a GP is relatively easier way of making the same money. Not saying it is easy to establish a practice, but easier.

SleepDoc

MaxSteele wrote: »

So 30 euro for 5 or 10 mins of their time is charity ?

Sorry, but you're local GP doesn't need to be charging 50 to 60 euro for every patient. I'd say a lot of them make more in a day or two than your average joe would in a week.

He dealt with your cardiac complaint. Money well spent.

Your doctor probably earns far more than your average Joe. Go to average Joe the next time you get chest pain.

Fuinseog

Colmustard wrote: »

Depends, GPs are little more then administrators, a kind of triage service, for when you are sick they send you to the hospital.

But GPs still know more then me.

If I had it again I would have went into medicine, that is if I had the discipline and intelligence.

why can you not eliminate the middle man and go directly to hospital yourself?
I do not understand the system. you pay the GP 60 euro and he scribbles something illegible on a note which refers you to someone else where you pay even more money.

SleepDoc

Fuinseog wrote: »

why can you not eliminate the middle man and go directly to hospital yourself?
I do not understand the system. you pay the GP 60 euro and he scribbles something illegible on a note which refers you to someone else where you pay even more money.

You can go straight to A&E. Will cost you about 120 euro.

Fuinseog

I had to have a medical check up for work a few years back. 70 euro for a ten minute check up. he weighed me and measured my height- things I could have done myself. Granted he took my blood pressure and but gave a non committal answer when I asked him was it good or bad.

Fuinseog

Sarky wrote: »

Then hit them in their allegedly overstuffed wallets; Don't go. You send a message and save money, and they get 10 minutes extra to treat people with actual problems. Or maybe they get to go home at a reasonable hour and actually spend some time relaxing. Or maybe they just get a single night of uninterrupted sleep.

The GP I went to in Dublin had surgery hours from 3pm-6pm so I don't think he was overworked.

Fuinseog

Carson10 wrote: »

No i do not think Doctors are over rated, but perhaps yes the fees are a little high.

It seems simple yes that when you go with a cold, that the consultation only last 5 min, but they might spot something you wont see on the net.

I think you should just be thankful that all that worries you when you walk away from the Dr is a mumble about the fee.

I was taken aback by recent GP visit . after the very brief consolation I thought me might give me a general health check and check my blood pressure. I might a swell get value for money but he did not seem interested. I agree with other posters. You have to shop around but how do you know where to find a good GP?

Fuinseog

Fuinseog wrote: »

why can you not eliminate the middle man and go directly to hospital yourself?
I do not understand the system. you pay the GP 60 euro and he scribbles something illegible on a note which refers you to someone else where you pay even more money.

Because otherwise the hospitals would be flooded with people complaining of minor ailments.

Also, a (good) GP will be able to ascertain from a patient's symptoms/history what kind of specialist they need to see.

Lets take back pain as an example.

70 year old lady slipped and fell 2 days ago and now has a pain in her back. Possibly a fractured vertebra, therefore needs to see an orthopaedic surgeon.

60 year old man complaining of back pain. Further questioning reveals he has been getting up 4 times a night to go to the bathroom and is having difficulty passing urine. Possibly sclerotic metastatic lesions in the lumbar spine from a prostate cancer, needs to see a urologist.

40 year old man complaining of back pain plus tingling and weakness in his legs, and numbness around his perineum. Possibly cauda equina syndrome due to disc prolapse. Needs to see a neurosurgeon.

These are very extreme examples obviously, but it's worth bearing in mind that what seems like one problem may actually be caused by a different one. Therefore, it makes sense to be seen by a GP before shipping yourself off to be seen by whatever specialist it is you think you need.

What doesn't make sense is having to pay 50 to 60 euro a go to visit a GP. It should be run like it is in the UK where GPs are paid from the public purse and can be seen for little or nothing thereafter.

There is a frightening number of people turning up in hospitals having ignored very serious symptoms for a long time, hoping they would go away by themselves, because of the cost of visiting a GP.

The system we have here is that GPs are paid a fairly small fixed amount per medical card patient per year, regardless of how many times they visit.

With having to pay the costs associated with running a business (rent, ESB, wages, insurance, rates etc.) they end up having to claw the money back from private patients to make a profit.

The 50 quid you give the GP doesn't go straight into his pocket, there are a lot of costs associated with running a practice.

Fuinseog

hattoncracker wrote: »

My childhood doctor misdiagnosed me when I was a kid, it took three weeks for him to diagnose pneumonia, and I spent a week in hospital.

he's in his 70s and still practising. When my sister went to him last year with stomach pains he told her to go on a diet, and when she went to another doctor in his practice she diagnosed her with a massive stomach infection which would have killed her in two weeks.

I went back to him last year when I was pregnant and vomiting blood and he laughed in my face. I didn't continue with the pregnancy for other reasons, and decided I'd never go to him again, because I knew he would give me the insults/murderer routine.

I got a new doctor, young enough, in her late twenties. It took me a year before I'd go to another GP, and she's very good, and so lovely.

the right doctor is worth any money, the wrong ones should not be allowed treat people.

This GP I went to was quite oldish as well and some of the things you say sound familiar. I think a younger doctor would have handled things differently.

wrong doctors get away with a lot of things.

Fuinseog

Deleted User wrote: »

Because otherwise the hospitals would be flooded with people complaining of minor ailments.

Also, a (good) GP will be able to ascertain from a patient's symptoms/history what kind of specialist they need to see.

Lets take back pain as an example.

70 year old lady slipped and fell 2 days ago and now has a pain in her back. Possibly a fractured vertebra, therefore needs to see an orthopaedic surgeon.

60 year old man complaining of back pain. Further questioning reveals he has been getting up 4 times a night to go to the bathroom and is having difficulty passing urine. Possibly sclerotic metastatic lesions in the lumbar spine from a prostate cancer, needs to see a urologist.

40 year old man complaining of back pain plus tingling and weakness in his legs, and numbness around his perineum. Possibly cauda equina syndrome due to disc prolapse. Needs to see a neurosurgeon.

These are very extreme examples obviously, but it's worth bearing in mind that what seems like one problem may actually be caused by a different one. Therefore, it makes sense to be seen by a GP before shipping yourself off to be seen by whatever specialist it is you think you need.

What doesn't make sense is having to pay 50 to 60 euro a go to visit a GP. It should be run like it is in the UK where GPs are paid from the public purse and can be seen for little or nothing thereafter.

There is a frightening number of people turning up in hospitals having ignored very serious symptoms for a long time, hoping they would go away by themselves, because of the cost of visiting a GP.

The system we have here is that GPs are paid a fairly small fixed amount per medical card patient per year, regardless of how many times they visit.

With having to pay the costs associated with running a business (rent, ESB, wages, insurance, rates etc.) they end up having to claw the money back from private patients to make a profit.

The 50 quid you give the GP doesn't go straight into his pocket, there are a lot of costs associated with running a practice.

we have come to accept a shoddy health service. I lived on the continent and my housemate went to the hospital with the flu. I did not expect to see him for at least 14 hours but he was back within two hours.

You are right. i know people who would rather die than go to a hospital or GP. some GPs will prescribe drugs like sweets which cannot be healthy. my neighbour was diagnosed with meningitis and fair play they cured him and discharged him but gave him the wrong drugs when he was discharged which nearly killed him as he lived to 2 hours away from the nearest hospital.

Dangerous Man

I went to the doctor about six months ago. I had to go to the doctor despite the fact that I knew exactly what was wrong with me, and exactly what I needed to treat the problem. After traveling to the doctor office and waiting it took two hours out of my day. Not only that but it cost me 55 dollars and then I had to pay for my prescription.

Incidentally, when I went to the doctor I didn't sit there and tell him what I had. I sat there and made idle chit-chat while he did the tests that I knew he'd do. Funnily enough, when he prescribed medicine, he missed out on one and I had to tell him that it should be on the script. He agreed, apologized, and put it on there.

So yeah, they certainly can be overrated.

I understand why we need doctors and why Joe Q Public isn't allowed to self-prescribe but in some instances it is quite annoying.

hoochis

Dangerous Man wrote: »

I went to the doctor about six months ago. I had to go to the doctor despite the fact that I knew exactly what was wrong with me, and exactly what I needed to treat the problem. After traveling to the doctor office and waiting it took two hours out of my day. Not only that but it cost me 55 dollars and then I had to pay for my prescription.

Incidentally, when I went to the doctor I didn't sit there and tell him what I had. I sat there and made idle chit-chat while he did the tests that I knew he'd do. Funnily enough, when he prescribed medicine, he missed out on one and I had to tell him that it should be on the script. He agreed, apologized, and put it on there.

So yeah, they certainly can be overrated.

I understand why we need doctors and why Joe Q Public isn't allowed to self-prescribe but in some instances it is quite annoying.

Was that in the States or Australia?

Dangerous Man

hoochis wrote: »

Was that in the States or Australia?

Neither - Canada.

hattoncracker

Fuinseog wrote: »

hattoncracker wrote: »

My childhood doctor misdiagnosed me when I was a kid, it took three weeks for him to diagnose pneumonia, and I spent a week in hospital.

he's in his 70s and still practising. When my sister went to him last year with stomach pains he told her to go on a diet, and when she went to another doctor in his practice she diagnosed her with a massive stomach infection which would have killed her in two weeks.

I went back to him last year when I was pregnant and vomiting blood and he laughed in my face. I didn't continue with the pregnancy for other reasons, and decided I'd never go to him again, because I knew he would give me the insults/murderer routine.

I got a new doctor, young enough, in her late twenties. It took me a year before I'd go to another GP, and she's very good, and so lovely.

the right doctor is worth any money, the wrong ones should not be allowed treat people.

This GP I went to was quite oldish as well and some of the things you say sound familiar. I think a younger doctor would have handled things differently.

wrong doctors get away with a lot of things.

I know.. was so afraid that I wouldn't go to any doctor for a year after the procedure..

Now I am on three different types of medication and have to go to a specialist. Wonder what would have happened if I went to my childhood doc.

Dangerous Man

hattoncracker wrote: »

I know.. was so afraid that I wouldn't go to any doctor for a year after the procedure..

Now I am on three different types of medication and have to go to a specialist. Wonder what would have happened if I went to my childhood doc.

Jesus - that's awful. It amazes me how some people who are dumber than hammers can become doctors. It reminds me of a doctor I had when I was a kid - he was just so awful. I went to him with nasal polyps and agonizing headaches. He said 'we'll treat the headaches first and then we'll deal with the polyps.' It never occurred to this clown that the polyps were causing the headaches. It's actually extremely common. I had them removed a bit later and bingo - no more headaches...

Incidentally, since your doc couldn't diagnose something as obvious and simple as pneumonia, what the bloody hell did he think it was?