Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

[The two most common bits of FUD I hear when the prospect of universal health care in the US is discussed, are "you won't get to choose your own doctor," and "other countries have waiting lists." My experience with HMOs leads me to question how many Americans get to choose their own doctors now; Canadian friends boast (not quite the right word, as they're being sympathetic) of getting to see their doctors more quickly. Today's quote suggests that the disparity between the FUD on the one hand and the relative experiences of myself in the US and my friends in Canada on the other, is not a matter of sampling error on my end.]

(Responding to being asked how the US health care system stands compared to the rest of the world ... ) "There's a controversial ranking that the WHO did, where they looked at the equity of different countries, the technologies that they have, the innovation, and so on. The US came out thirty-seventh, largely because we have so many who are uninsured [...]

"But when you even take away that controversial kind of ranking, you ask questions like, 'If you have a respiratory infection and you want to see your primary care doctor, can you get to your primary care doctor within a week?' You ask people here, and it is far harder for them to see a primary care physician, even when they have insurance, than it is in most of the countries in Europe that have been surveyed, for example. There are waiting lists in other countries for some operations that we get to much faster. The biggest picture though, is that for those of us who have insurance today, we are all running up against the complications and difficulties of being unable to access the care. We have emergency rooms that you wait for hours and hours, many that are on diversion -- not even taking new patients. It's a problem."

-- Dr. Atul Gawande, interviewed by Charlie Rose on the PBS television program, Charlie Rose, 2009-04-01