Yeah, well I'm gonna lean towards, he's getting good care, he just thinks it's not, because he wants his ass kissed like all celebrities. Lets face it, the state of medical.....everything, in this era is atrocious, and I like Stossel, he's done some good work, but his story shouldn't be customer service, it should be how screwed everything is, because of nobama care, and what it's not done for the people that really have to pay their fair share.
I don't think that he's looking to have his ass kissed in this case. He just wants the same thing that you or I would want if we're sick and we need medical care: we want to be in the loop and to be treated like we're humans and not cattle. And while I'm no fan of ObamaCare, it has nothing to do with these issues. These issues have been there well before Obama was even in the Senate.
I can relate to this SO well:
But as a consumer reporter, I have to say, the hospital's customer service stinks. Doctors keep me waiting for hours, and no one bothers to call or email to say, "I'm running late." Few doctors give out their email address. Patients can't communicate using modern technology.
I get X-rays, EKG tests, echocardiograms, blood tests. Are all needed? I doubt it. But no one discusses that with me or mentions the cost. Why would they? The patient rarely pays directly. Government or insurance companies pay.
I fill out long medical history forms by hand and, in the next office, do it again. Same wording: name, address, insurance, etc.
I shouldn't be surprised that hospitals are lousy at customer service. The Detroit Medical Center once bragged that it was one of America's first hospitals to track medication with barcodes. Good! But wait -- ordinary supermarkets did that decades before.
Generally, I only go to the doctor when I'm REALLY sick. And unfortunately, when are we least able to fend for ourselves? When we're sick! I'm hardly in a position to negotiate or debate back and forth if I'm gravely ill or I think that I'm dying. I've asked doctors and even people in the office how much certain tests are going to cost. And I've yet to have anyone give me even a ballpark figure beforehand. The main issue is, different people pay different amounts for the
same service or procedure. There should be ONE "cash price", and
then they can dicker with whatever insurance company the patient has. But hospitals are set up to charge people the maximum that they can get away with, irrespective of the actual cost. And as Stossel pointed out, even within the same hospital, why do we have to fill out the
same form, with the
same information on it, for multiple doctors??? Why is it that I can go into a Bank of America branch in California and they'll know just as much about my account as a Bank of America branch in North Carolina? But if I go to most any hospital chain in the U.S., once I leave one facility and go to another one right across town, I'm treated like a Martian that just landed on Earth? "We just need you to fill out these forms." I already filled out those same forms an hour ago!!! And why am I filling it out on a piece of paper?! Have you not heard of this new invention called the iPad???!!! It's only been around for 5 or 6 years! Do you know what a computer is???!!! And why am I still waiting? My appointment was 30 minutes ago! Yet, many specialists have a policy to charge any patient who is 30 minutes late, who doesn't cancel or reschedule the appointment ahead of time. :wtf:
As Stossel pointed out, hospitals (especially the large chains) are bureaucracies, set up just like any other business: maximize profits, while minimizing expenses. And sadly, the patients who get care within those facilities are increasingly seen as profit generators or sources of revenue... not as someone's mother or father, husband or wife. ObamaCare has not helped that one bit. But it didn't start the fire.
