Health Care Rant

I'm overdue for a good ranting session, and today is the perfect day.

The health care system in the United States just sucks. It's obscene, really. If I was a politician, I would be able to more eloquently describe it as having failed the American people. It's a chicken versus the egg type of situation on where exactly it starts to go wrong. The whole process of becoming a doctor is flawed, beginning with the ridiculous educational requirements that, in my opinion, were created more to keep people OUT, rather than let certain people in. Then there's the widely embraced concept of doctor as God that keeps as many followers as possible disempowered and uneducated.

I still think male OB/GYNs are disgusting, but female doctors are often not much better, since femininity is one of the traits that is beaten out of students before they graduate medical school. We cannot possibly keep up with the ultra dependence on pharmaceuticals and expensive medical tests and procedures that are misused and overused in this country. Our infant and maternal mortality rates are appalling. We're an embarrassment to the entire rest of the world. I know the system is beginning to implode upon itself, and I'm eagerly awaiting the day it's gone for good.

In the meantime, however, I will start sharing my opinions. It took a lot of unlearning for me to get to this point, but I'm here. The combination of my experiences as a wife, daughter, former teenager, daughter-in-law, sister, friend, pre-med drop-out, doula, midwifery student, woman, and licensed midwife are enough to validate my qualifications and ability to provide opinions about health care. Oh, and the California Medical Board says I can, too.

In the effort of full disclosure, I got a D in my first calculus class, and just barely graduated high school. I learned the vast majority of my hands-on skills from women who never went to college but still manage to save lives on a daily basis. My knowledge of health care around the world comes from friends and colleagues who live and work in just about every kind of environment I could imagine (and some I couldn't). I'm just radical enough to believe we should each be responsible for our own health.

So, on that note, there are a few pieces of info I'd like to share. Forgive the sarcasm, but I've been stuffing these opinions down for so long, they have taken on a life of their own.

1) Doctors are not gods. Neither are nurse practitioners. They are human beings who spent tons of money and many years in school learning, supposedly, how the human body works. In the US, they are not taught to treat the whole person, but rather, body parts at a time. Doctors do not have all the answers. Sometimes they won't have any answers. Stop expecting them to. Treat them with respect, but stop bowing down to them as if they were greater than you.

2) Be responsible for your own health. We now all have access to the internet and thus the same learning materials all health care professionals do. Use common sense as the first approach to answering a question, and a call to Kaiser as a later response. Learn basic first-aid. Figure out the difference between an emergency and a concern. Stop draining our health care resources!

3) Acknowledge that there are physical and financial side-effects to every prescription medication you take. Some can and will save your lives. Many are unnecessary. Lots of drug companies profit tremendously from your ignorance. Do your research carefully. Know which remedies don't have the same negative side effects? Yep, herbs, homeopathy, massage, acupuncture, acupressure, reiki, craniosacral, chiropractic...basically the same treatments that have kept humans alive long enough to evolve to this point. They've worked for hundreds of years or more. Why would you expect they wouldn't work for you? Best yet, you don't need a prescription.

4) Ask questions. Get a second opinion. And a third. Don't let people take advantage of you. When you go in for a GYN appointment, ask to speak to the doctor before you get naked and lie there cold and scared under a paper sheet. Get used to being treated with dignity and respect. Demand it. Don't pay for care that is inadequate. If you have an unsatisfying experience at Kaiser, you can ask for and receive a refund of your co-pay at the registration desk. Then, you can put your feelings into words when the survey comes in the mail a couple days later.

5) Do not EVER let someone take your blood pressure with an automatic cuff. Be especially aware of this if you have a history of high blood pressure. You could end up with a diagnosis and a "pre-existing condition" if you rely on the machine's (often inaccurate) reading. Demand that the nurse or doctor use a manual cuff once you're in the exam room. Ask to know the results, every single time. Who cares if you get a dirty look? It's your health, not theirs.

6) Stop using the excuse that your health insurance doesn't cover something. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Ask anyone who has had a serious illness and they will tell you your health is the most important thing you possess. Believe that you are worth it. What is the point of having any money at all if you cannot take care of yourself? Be creative - find a student, see an "alternative" specialist, buy supplies online, ask your local midwife about connections that could lead to discounts. Yes, you can.

Now that the floodgates have opened, I realize I have a lot more to say. I'm planning future posts on nutrition, veganism, fertility awareness and birth control. If anyone has any requests for future topics or burning questions, lemme know.