Personal experience: why calling a doctor in America is pointless

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As you know, doctors in America do not go home (there are, however, medical programs where it is possible to call a doctor to a house, but even here the doctor will not come to you “on the same day” - the sites I have studied talk about 24-48 hours, at least), and patients, including sick children, go to the doctor themselves. And although, when you are ill, it is difficult to get to the doctor, I do not doubt for a minute that this is the case (and not when the doctor comes to you "from the cold" with a stethoscope and writes out a bunch of supplements) and needs to be treated.

I'll start with the Moscow experience. Being in April in Moscow, I got sick with severe sinusitis. The illness started in the second half of the day, I understood that my temperature rises sharply, my face swells and it hurts to knock on my bones - to be honest, I was scared of the rapid spread of infection ... What should I do? I called my district polyclinic, they didn’t accept the call to the house “for today”, and I decided to go to the doctor myself. I looked terrible, no doubt that I was really bad, did not arise. I was given a ticket "in the queue". She came to the office, tried to take a queue - I was immediately perceived with hostility (“We are all here by appointment; the last one will go when everyone is over”), I politely said that I am ill and do not mind waiting. And then it began: “Why are you sick here?” - I was stunned by the lexicon! In general, after spending 2 hours there, I realized that I was getting worse, I was very shaky and everything was aching, and I decided to think of something else - go to a paid clinic, for example. She gave the card at the reception and said that I could not sit any longer. And what do you think? Before I could get to the house, the same doctor I tried to reach was called the intercom! Imagine my sick look so “frightened the registry” that they removed her from reception and sent to me! Well, not insanity! What prevented me to just take my hand and bring me into the office with an obviously acute case of the disease? I got a prescription for antibiotics (by the way, it’s interesting - in America antibiotics cost a penny - 4-6 dollars for a course of treatment, but in Russia it’s a lot of money and some myths about “cleaning” as if it's moonshine) and a long list of drugs. By the way, I had a terrible reaction to this antibiotic - I was vomiting, and I didn’t die a second time in a day. ))

In the morning I went to a paid X-ray in Mositalmed, where they quickly did everything and made a diagnosis (the same sinusitis).

How about in America?

In America, it would be so. In the same condition as I was in Moscow, I would call the "hot line", where nurses advise. The first thing they ask questions to exclude serious things like a heart attack or stroke, and then find out how bad you feel. At temperatures above 38.5 and, say, vomiting, they immediately appoint you to see a doctor at a convenient medical center.

And so I think - how would a doctor with a stethoscope help me in these cases? Nothing. Every time some tests are done, samples are taken, a diagnosis is made and, if necessary, help is provided immediately. In Moscow, even though I went to the clinic, all this is still impossible - either sit at home on sick leave and receive symptomatic treatment (and very expensive one) or antibiotics prescribed blindly, or antiviral drugs, or somehow it’s all the same get to a medical facility and do tests and the same x-ray. So, of course, I am a supporter of the American protocol and, in general, the general approach to the treatment of influenza and infections. Of course, you can go to the same Whole Foods and buy propolis, oscillococcinum, any homeopathy, immunity “improvers” and everything your soul asks for to calm down, but doctors do not recommend this. There is no over-the-counter interferon here, and in general there are real prescription drugs, and doctors are quite conservative. This is what I think about the fact that a “doctor at home” is not a benefit and is not a reason to be proud of medical care. And what do you think?

Yes! I understand the visitors of the Moscow polyclinic, who were afraid to catch me. In America, during the same flu, patients are immediately sorted - they will give you a mask with temperature and will be sent to a special waiting room and you will not cross with healthy people.

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