Why does it take so long to get a doctor
Posted By: appointment or procedure in Canada? on 2009-06-16
In Reply to:
Everyone is discussing the pros/cons of a national health program, but no-one is saying the exact reason why it takes a long time to see a doctor or have a procedure in Canada.
I am just curious. Do they not have enough doctors? Not enough facilities for operations?
Just wondering why the long wait times.
Of course even here in the US it take me 6-8 weeks for a GYN visit and the last time I had to sit in an ER it was 9 hours before we got in to see a doctor.
But I was just wondering what was going on in Canada, I never seem to see an explanation for it all. 
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Call your doctor - this is not a doctor forum! nm
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Congrats! How long have you been a MLS and how long did you study for the test!
Please see message. I have three daughters with long, long hair.
I also have long hair down to my waist and my three girls have hair that long too. My daughter brought them home from school last year. I was devestated and grossed out!!!! I have never had to deal with lice. Anyway, we did the treatments and two of my girls broke out in a severe rash with the OTC stuff. Their little heads were so sore!! I thought I was being meticulous with eggs, only to find them hatching again down the road. A nurse at the pediatricians office suggested I try oil to suffocate them since my girls were allergic to the lice solution. I bought a huge bottle of veggie oil and dumped it on all three heads, plus my own. I then wrapped the heads in platic wrap and then a towel. I left this on for 30 minutes. It takes a while to wash out the oil, but we never, ever had the lice or eggs again!!! If you try this, make sure you put on an old shirt and put a towel around your shoulders. Obviously we were desperate, but we all have such long hair and very thick hair so I was willing to try anything. And I figured there was no chemicals involved so that was pretty safe. And it sure did help my littles ones since their scalps were pretty raw from the solution. Hope this helps and Good luck!
It's been a long, long time since I've used a C-phone, sm
but I do think jobs can be paused.
I had a problem with this for a long, long time sm
I have always worked days, like from 6-3. Over the last few years, it didn't matter how much sleep I got, I became real groggy between 7 and 11. Really shoots the day. Talked to my doctor and he said my blood pressure pills were the culprit but he refused to change me to another brand or dosage since I have multiple aneurysms (2 in the brain). My BP has been stable for a long time and he wants to "keep it on the low side". I tried taking them before I went to bed instead of early in the morning, but then I had headaches all day. So, I am changing to a night shift for a few months so I can sleep when those pills kick in and so far it is working pretty good. I stay mostly awake during my shift and die when I hit the bed from 6 am to 10 am, then I lay down again later in the afternoon for 2-3 hours. I still get 6-7 hours of sleep, it's just split up during the day, plus I am mostly awake now when I sit down to type. I don't have to deal with the heat in my office, either. It tends to warm up real fast in here with the south sun on the house and 2 pc's running all day, even with the air conditioner on.
Way back when, a long, long time
ago and in a galaxy far, far away, I had my own accounts also and some years cleared $75,000. Yes it can be done, but you need to have your own accounts. Also lots of delivery, and other duties involved. I work for a large national now and make much less, but I got tired of accountants, having to deal with hardware problems, deadlines, driving deliveries, printing, printers, etc. So I decided to simplify my taxes and stay home and just type. Don't have to worry about computers either, because the company will just send me a new one.
Long, long files. Seemed like they'd never end! I'd never go back to VA again. nm
s
I've been doing this a long, long time...
I used to make $70,000 and up a year and did so for most of the late 80s and 90s (one girl used to make six figures a year working 7 days a week!) Because we were making more money than the supervisors and Medical Records Directors in hospitals, they began to switch to transcription services which were sprouting up all over the place. Plus AAMT came into existence and even though in the beginning it claimed it was to fight for transcriptionists (although assured us it was NOT a union), they eventually morphed into an organization that was more management friendly. They developed the "guidelines" and the 65-char line. That was the beginning of the end for those high-end wages. Then all those mickey mouse transcription schools popped up, and now outsourcing overseas. YES, we're complaining.
Been in this biz a long, long time, 30+ years and....sm
I love/loved MTing. However, things have changed so much during these years. The job definitely gets easier; don't have to look up much, can decipher ESLs much easier, in other words, you get pretty comfortable with things and you have confidence in yourself. The more experience you have the easier the job, but....
I actually made more money 10 years ago!! We didn't have speech recognition and you actually got paid for headers/footers, demographics, carbon copies, etc., you got paid for what you did fairly; today, I am not so sure.
You will feel burned out at times, but that passes and you find you like your job again.
Good luck to you!!
A long, long time ago, I was going thru
a really bad time emotionally and physically. I was suffering, and my transcribing suffered. I assure you - if you are to the point of not paying your rent, literally, and needing food stamps, there is something else going on in your life than current transcription rates. We are all in this industry and many are thriving, most getting along comfortably. If you are literally to the point of food stamps, you honestly would be a fool to continue. I blamed it on my job, on my line rate, on everything but the honest truth that I was ill and was NOT working as I should or could. It is a really sad thing that you keep spreading this propaganda that MTs in our culture are doomed and now destined for food stamps. Food stamps are not something to toss around lightly, as you would know if you ever had to use them. Please let's not be quite so dramatic. Again, if you are really in those dire straits, you really need to face that MTing is not the fit for you, personally, and do something about it rather than blame our industry. You dwell on the past, but we can't do that. While you may have made other wages 20 years ago, may I remind you that we were pounding away on IBM Selectrics using layers of paper and bottles of white out, going crazy trying to rewind tapes over and over to get that dang word, with no idea what an Expander was. Technology is fantastic. Things have changed, but things are still great in this industry, and in this world. Those who change and can adapt will be fine, but you need to recognize that most of us are not ready for food stamps.
Sure did...you been around for a long, long year
Maybe the doctor
usually sees people with superpowers.
What about the ED ones that say to see your doctor if you have, sm
an erection for over 4 hours. Now I quickly switch the channel if my child or my parents are in the room when those commercials come on.
doctor
I only have 1 doctor and 2 nurse practitioners who speak english - so I don't have to learn any foreign accents.
It isn't the doctor. They have to pay big $$ for
malpractice insurance, which is the main reason the visits are so high. They also have huge college loans to pay off.
Please, please go to the doctor
nm
I actually had a doctor who
farted and then let out a huge sigh... Talk about gross.
Definitely tell your doctor...
Not to scare you, but just to be on the safe side. I am praying for you too!
This doctor
likes to go DUBADUBADUBADUBADUBADUBADO while he is thinking of what to say next. It was funny at first, but 5 minutes in it is becoming very annoying!
Did you ever think to ask your doctor or
dumbo
I think you need to get a doctor.
:P
Thanks....I know I need a doctor, which I am
in the process of doing. I've just moved.
I am wondering if anyone has any ideas what this might be caused from and if there are things I should look for today. Can I wait and see if anything changes? Etc....
doctor know why
nm
I also had a doctor who did not know
his numbers. I always straightened them out for him, always until the day he said I WANT THESE REPORTS EXACTLY AS I DO THEM. Ok, then… he had 1, 4, 2, 10, 3, 9, 6 and the like. Talk about a snot. He asked for it and that is what he got.
Hee hee- we had a doctor
whose middle initial was P and somebody didn't catch that their Expander had kicked in so his name on the signature line came out John Potassium Smith. Even funnier, he sent it back signed John Potassium Smith. Thank goodness he had a sense of humor!
If you don't need to go to the doctor
for the pre-existing conditions I would just get the meds, though is you are going to get Cobra that should cover you until you get insurance. Cobra is expensive though so you need to look at the financial burden it may place on the family.
Can you work second job part-time until you are eligible for benefits and then go full-time and drop the other job. Seventy more days is a long time to work 2 FT jobs, plus with the chaos of the holidays on top of that is just too much.
Have you looked into getting a private policy? I think they have to take you even with a pre-existing condition as long as you have been continuously insured. That way you wouldn't be tied to a job for insurance reasons.
A really thorough doctor
One of the doctors that I work for gives a lot of details about his patient but this one really seemed a bit much.
The patient is seeing him due to snoring.
The patient states that she snores very loudly. Her husband complains of her snoring. She also has a dog that sleeps in her bedroom and the dog snores as well.
Very important info LOL!
If it's only for one doctor, then you might look..sm
Look for the Philips 9850. They sell it on Novuscript.com and transcriptiongear.com for under $1000. It only has capability for one phone line, so only one doc can call into it at a time. Personally, I can tell you that the digital handheld recorders will allow you to achieve the same results with much less hassle, as you have to set up user accounts, etc., on the call-in unit. Any technical glitches with the call-in unit, you'll be handling so you will need to be well versed in the unit and its parameters or sit on hold with Philips for tech support. However, it's an option for you if you only have one doc and you're more comfortable with call-in dictation. Digital handheld recorders are cheaper, too, so you might really want to look into those, as mentioned by other posters but I've been using the Philips 9850 for a few years now and it works fine as long as you only have one doctor dictating to it at a time.
Please see a doctor.
I have had all these symptoms and more. Medication for this has really helped me. Please see a doctor to get evaluated.
I had a doctor tell me the
He was totally amazed. I don't see the difference in my speed of typing than a physician that sees 25-30 patients in one day...  It all amazes how healthcare has evolved. In a hospital, it was definitely quality and serve the physician. With these online MTSOs, it's cents per line and produce, produce, produce, barely learning the account. Oh, and make it quick! 
well, certainly I am no doctor, but
it sounds like infection is back. Did he do any studies on fluid he found before? Maybe you should call him. Hope this gets better, I am sure this is miserable.
I have one doctor
who goes the other way. It seems like he uses every big, odd, unheard of word he can think of to sound intelligent. I'm not sure if he is doing it on purpose, but it's just as sickening as those who use made up and incorrect words.
I have a doctor...
That has a dog, sounds like a HUGE dog and the thing barks like the ENTIRE time she is dictating! I have to try and distinguish what she is saying through dog barks! Also, another dictator, she will dictate for a good 2 to 3 minutes and then get hung up, looking through medical records, and sit there saying "ummmm, ummmm, ummmm" for a good minute and then she says...."I'm sorry, let's start this over, please delete everything I have said thus far" UGGHHH that is VERY irritating that I have typed a good page or so and have to delete it all!
new doctor
Yes, I used to do that too. They never tell you anything, even when one leaves! It is ever the same, the Transcriptionist is out of sight, out of mind.
ask doctor
Ask the doctor that from where u need to d/l the dictation. If he is having a FTP site or is he going to send it thru e-mail.
But what if the doctor says...sm
"The patient was taken to the endoscopy suite and prepped and draped for an esophagogastroduodenoscopy..."
Lord have mercy, I could never have worked without my word expander, being such a butterfingers.
I had a doctor do that once (sm)
It was a resident from back in the day. He thought he was being funny by belching while dictating. One time it was a huge long belch. Back then we worked in an office, the secretarial pool, so to speak. There were about 7 of us in the office. We were assigned doctors and they came to our desk to pick up their draft copies for changes.
When he came in to pick up his reports, I had his tape in my player and on speaker and asked him if he could help decipher what was on the tape. He stood there while I played it. Along came his belch after a few sentences. His face turned red and he apologized and I didn't hear it after that again.
A few other doctors thought it was funny until the woman who did their dictation turned them in for being lewd. One was talking about what he was doing, going into detail (using the bathroom) along with sound effects.
No, we shouldn't have to deal with this.
The doctor I used to see 2-3 years ago used something like this - sm
I couldn't stand it - I felt like he was being distracted with typing stuff into his computer and wasn't actually listening to what I was saying. I looked over his shoulder and could see like a checklist of symptoms and he was going down the list asking me what symptoms I had and checking the appropriate box with his mouse, but it seemed like he was more concerned with filling out the form correctly than listening to my problem. And typing in my vital signs took him FOREVER! The last time I saw him I don't think he actually looked at my face once - just kept pecking away at that stupid computer. I would rather they give the patient their full attention and leave the transcription to the experts (us). Hopefully others feel this way too!
My doctor did tell me that yesterday....sm
thanks for reconfirming, I wasn't sure if I believed it. He even told me not to let the girls wash their hair everyday, which I knew wasn't good for other reasons but they do anyway.
It's still one of those things that makes you want crawl in a hole and hide. I hope the looks blow over soon.
No I'm not qualified to be a doctor. I only said that it was possible
to do this job without formal training and that I was a nurse before I was an MT and that did help me get my first job as a transcriptionist. I am not knocking an education, I was just stating a fact. 
Talk to a doctor
Find out what is the downside for YOU, then make your decision from there. Sounds simple, but I'd hate to have to make that decision. Godspeed.
Doctor's records
When a physician retires or otherwise closes his practice, he must offer his patients the opportunity to pick up a copy of their records, which he may or may not charge for photocopying. The original records must be kept by the physician for a period of 7 years after the practice closes.
What kind of doctor.
I used to type ENT docs who treated this condition. I would definitely not go to an oral surgeon. They deal with surgery. You want your condition treated not surgically fixed.
Yes, I do correct the doctor. NM
nm
Almighty doctor
Actually...more likely the almighty insurance companies or to take it even further, our almighty govt. is to blame.
MTSO's in order to compete with offshore and with doctors cutting back and insurance companies cutting back, have had to lower what they charge doctors (or lose business to offshore), therefore they have to pay MTs less. It's a vicious cycle. It's happening in the tech industry, as well.
If we don't like it, we should think about how we VOTE, because that's the only power we have left at this point.
Just fired a doctor
I just fired one of my doctors and I feel so much better! I'm an IC and this office has been a royal pain! Very late payments, constantly losing reports and blaming me for not transcribing them, never letting me know when they'd be off (wasting my gas and time), getting behind on dictating and then wanting 5+ days of dictation back in twelve hours, etc. The final straw was when they started making me go in the waiting room and stand at the sign-in window behind all their patients to drop off work. Of course, if they were on the phone, I'd have to wait even longer when I reached the window... at times up to twenty minutes before the receptionist would open the window and take the work. I decided my other offices appreciate me too much to allow that one office to treat me like a second class citizen. To top it off -- what did the wife say when I fired him? "You can't do that -- you need the money." Too bad for her, because their money isn't worth my self-respect!
Fired a doctor
I am proud of you.
to just fired a doctor, way to go!
Reading your post sort or reminded me of those new DHL commercials on customer service (or the lack of).
When I worked in office, our old fashioned German boss would never have allowed anyone to wait..if he was running 30 minutes late, we moved every body back 45...those were the good ol days.
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