One more cup of coffee

Healthcare

Last night I dreamed that I was in a Bug Council (Microsoft-ese, equivalent Apple-ese is -- or at least was -- Bug Review Board) with a bunch of people from my current team at Microsoft and a bunch of people from the QuickTime team when I worked there at Apple. We were all earnestly discussing what to do with some bug. Very weird.

Did I mention that my temperature last night when I went to bed was 102 degrees (F)?

I went to the doctor this morning, who said it looked like a simple virus and that it should be better soon. And, indeed, tonight is the best I've felt since Friday.

I love this doctor. This is the third doctor I've had since I moved here nine years ago, and by far the best. The first doctor I had was insane. Any little symptom I had of anything was obviously something dire and possibly fatal. Dizzy one day? Probably a heart condition. A stye on my eyelid? That'll need surgery. Heartburn? Major ulcer (could lead to cancer, you know). Oh, and I was probably an alcoholic. From all the binge drinking that I did in college. (I say I didn't? Denial.) And, for all this, I got to wait a minimum of 75 minutes for each appointment. Often more. Yay.

My second doctor was nice, and not, seemingly, insane, but was happy to prescribe drugs for anything. Acne? Go on antibiotics. Forever. Umm ... The wait was still long (45 minutes - an hour on average), and that was once you could get in at all. I called one time with a fever I had had for several days and they were able to fit me in four or five days later, by which point I assumed I would either be healthy or dead. As an added bonus, the rest of the staff in the office clearly communicated just how pissed off they were by you imposing on them anytime you had to interact with them. Finally, I decided to take the hint and not impose anymore.

My current doctor works out of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. In my three appointments there so far, my longest wait has been fifteen minutes. The other two were closer to five. My doctor pays attention to me, does what she needs to, prescribes medicine only if it makes sense, and then I'm done. This morning, Meredith called to make an appointment for me. They fit me in 40 minutes after the phone call. I was in and out in ten minutes, feeling great about the experience.

This is how health care should work. Why is it so unusual?