As unfortunate as it is, we are living, finally, in the age of the Boomers. We're all past 65, some of us well beyond that, and we are.....................................ummmm............needy. Very, very, needy. The various conditions with which we present are encouraging more specialization, meaning more physicians who would normally be content with a career in home care or in general practice, are in training, sometimes for years!. So, just as the 'market' is burgeoning, so is the training system for specialists who are meant to help the elderly 'us' deal with the vagaries of aging...whether we're doing it well or not.
I'm in Canada. The vaunted socialized health care is doing no better, and arguably much worse, than your pay-as-you-go or co-pay systems in the USA. In ON, your wait for cataract surgery is near three months. Here in BC, and this is due almost entirely to the numbers of retirees who enjoy our balmier climes on the wet coast (yes, wet is the correct spelling between November and April), wait times for orthoscopic first visits, for a then-agreed-to repair, for cataracts, and for first contacts with specialists, is near a year.
Just yesterday I drove my wife to Victoria where the 'real' specialists are on the Island. Our visit with a rather fetching, blond, thin, mom of about 35, a rheumatologist, was a whole hour, but she blasted us with questions and was typing furiously most of the time. I think we were patient # 6 for her day, and she had at least four to go. In our system, many of these specialists also have responsibilities to patients admitted to hospital, meaning they have to make the rounds at least once a day. This eats into office time.
We were grateful for the hour. When my wife was scheduled to have her breast removed last September, the visit with the surgeon lasted perhaps 13 minutes. Most specialists have to urge us to avail ourselves of information on the www.