White People Twitter

Okay, thanks.

A recent experience here has made me think of the phrase "conveyor-belt health care". I think I made that up, but I may have heard it somewhere and forgot.

In my case: I had major pain in my neck that was leading to numbness in my arm and hand. I didn't even bother with my primary care physician, I just scheduled an appointment with a back pain specialist. The back pain place is extremely efficient and has been very good about treating the pain..........but not once have they raised the topic of, "What caused this and is there anything we can do to prevent it in the future?"

And, I don't want to detract from them, they are absolutely excellent at that treatment. But it's get in, get in the OR or exam room, chat for a minute, see you in 5 weeks. My appointments generally take 10 minutes or less when the doctor is in the room.

Years ago I had issues with my neck - which turned out to have the same root cause, but the symptoms were very different, so I didn't connect them - and multiple primary care physicians told me to take advil, even after I told them this was a recurring issue. Irritating experience, to say the least. "Hey, I'm stuck on the couch and can only move in agony for a few days two or three times per year." "Take Advil." Conveyor belt moves on.

I know we hate chiropractors here, with good reason, but it was chiropractors (who are also physical therapists, which might be the difference) who actually looked at the X-ray or MRI, found the underlying problem, and came up with treatment plans involving various exercises to attempt to solve the underlying problem. The MRI was ordered by the back pain specialist, so they had the imagery and could have found the issue. Why is there no room for that kind of analysis in our "legitimate" health care system?

Conveyor-belt health care.