Gratitude Discussion Group

@johnbishop Goodmorning John hope your having good day . I just got on and my like button has disappeared do you have any answers ? you helped me last time so I thought you might have some answer ? Linda

Today I got a haircut. I'd gone a little longer than usual. In fact, I deliberately had my hair cut extra short in January so I wouldn't have to go back too soon while I was recovering from knee surgery. But today was MY day! He cut so much hair I thought I probably lost 5 pounds. I loved how light and summery my new-do made me feel. I'm grateful for my hairdresser and how a new haircut can make me feel brand new!

@pearlbaby7 - @merpreb Merry was so right. You are definitely an important part of this group. Without the energy of every single one of us, this would just be words. Instead, all of our contributions make it into a real community whose members all care about one another. I love us!

@lioness @parus @gingerw

At Kaiser and some other places now you must call and request the results of your tests. I think insurance, for-profit healthcare, and limited number of doctors have caused the problem. To be profitable (or in some instances to break even) doctors are required to see a certain number of patients each day. This means they can only spend minimal time with patients who aren't acute. If they fall below their required number they often must take a cut in pay, or they may lose their jobs.

Computers have actually helped the doctors and nurses, and ultimately patients. Previously doctors would see their patients and at the end of each day they dictated their findings to tape to be transcribed the following day by staff and assigned the ICD number that corresponded to the patient's medical problem. The staff often needed to review the doctors handwritten notes to confirm their transcription. Have you tried to read doctor handwriting? It's terrible! Also, doctors often didn't like to to dictate their findings after a long day at work (12+ hours), so they let the patient files build up for a few weeks before trying to do them in a marathon session. This resulted in errors and difficulty for the patient who was awaiting their insurance reimbursement. With the computers doctors spend much less time transcribing information and are assured that the information entered is correct as they have you in the room when they are recording it. Things are more accurate and mistakes are hopefully fewer in number.

All change is difficult to adjust to, but in the long run computer use will improve the care given. I can't say the same about having to change doctors so often! I feel for you Parus. I hope Medicare for All (universal, single payer) will solve some of these problems for all of us. It will at the least, not be profit-oriented! It seems that "the Golden Calf" worship has led us to the state we're in these days. I hope my explanation has been helpful. This is from my 8 years working in healthcare/hospitals/clinics at an administrative level and seeing the challenges and changes that doctors and nurses are dealing with. The vast majority of healthcare professionals are truly interested in helping their patients improve. Only a few are truly bad at their jobs.

I am grateful for my 8 years of experience in Healthcare as it has given me compassion and empathy for those who work tirelessly to help those of us who need their expertise.

@gailib. Computers have taken over our lives, haven’t they? Some days I hate them, and other days I can’t live without them! Especially when I’ve just had an MRI and I can see the films as the doctor explains what’s going on. I encountered a new technology when I saw my oncologist 2 weeks ago. He had a small “screen” clipped to his glasses that was actually a computer monitor! He said that the transcription isn’t could hear everything we both said and she could transcribe it. Saved the doc from doing it later. She/he could also show things on the computer screen for him to look at. Very unobtrusive system. The doc was trialing it for their practice.