The Doctor May Be In or Not

Today is one of those anxious days when I meet with my oncologist to learn the current state of my leukemia. For over three years now the miracle drug Gleevec has held the disease at bay. But my anxiety is compounded by an insensitive, almost arrogant health care system in which the doctors get to play god while patients are to assume the role of sickly inferiors. My schedule is secondary to the doctor’s. My concerns are dismissed if they don’t coincide with the physician’s. My insurance pays for the privilege of being seen. I’m just old enough to vaguely remember the doctor making a house call when it wasn’t in my best interest to go to the office. If one can cough up the uninsured surcharge I understand that it’s still possible to have the physician come to your home. What’s really frustrating is that in comparison to others I don’t have anything to complain about. There are many who are literally victimized by the system, and I’m not sure that universal health care is going to be the ultimate remedy unless it includes a critical component: patient advocacy. There is strength in numbers, and a person sick enough to need attention shouldn’t be left alone to deal with anonymous, uncaring insurers and health maintenance organizations. There needs to be someone knowledgeable in the ways of health care who works for and with the patient to obtain appropriate and effective treatment. I am blessed with a wife who doesn’t hesitate to advocate for me, and I am extremely grateful that it hasn’t been necessary for me to return the favor. But for all the people who, under less than ideal conditions, are battling what is tantamount to corporate medicine, we need to provide the same right to medical counsel as is afforded to criminals before the justice system. You have the right…