Ask Lemmy

One of the few things I liked about Russia is the healthcare system.

If you have money, and I don't mean like you're in the top 1% or 10%, you just have an average salary, you can get any doctor any procedure within 2 days. Neck MRI is $120; ultrasound is about $30; regular appointment is also $20-30; PET $400.

When it comes to the free healthcare tier, it's kinda tricky. In an emergency you could be delivered either in a new medical center with boxes and wifi, or they could throw you in an old hospital where various infections were living for centuries and doctors just hate this place and everyone who's around.

Haven't been there for almost 5 years, if we exclude a short two month period where I haven't interacted with the healthcare system. I heard that due to sanctions there's a lack of basic medicine right now: antibiotics, infusions, and even paracetamol.

I usually book an appointment. Appear on the proper day. Get my exams done, leave, no money spent. If it's like a screening for something that can be done in a public health clinic, I'll go, spend about 30 mins to one hour waiting, talk to the doc, get whatever prescriptions they give me, get discharged and go home, no money spent.

Depends on who you're seeing, what time, etc. for a GP you're waiting as long as the ones in front of you take. I actually don't mind that so much, in my case it's because my regular gp hates metrics and doesn't give a fat shit what the clinic wants. He takes as long as is needed with each patient (and bills them all as standard consults) Unfortunately he also sees a lot of little old ladies, so sometimes it blows out.

Recently found out we were inadvertently exposed to a shitton of lead dust. Monday we decided to get tested, yesterday (Tuesday) morning i got the consult, gp wrote me up the paperwork, I scooted the while four meters to the phlebotomist, they took blood and urine, should hear back today /tomorrow, already received my medicare refund. Same with hubs, although he tacked on getting his flu/rsv and latest covid vaccinations done at the same time. Australia here for the record.

It's pretty much bullshit, you just get ignored or condescended to by assholes who want you out of their office so they can get the next "billable" in. When you demand competent attention, they just use their knowledge of the system to fuck with you. I had a doctor write me out a prescription the pharmacist took away, hiding the evidence of the doctor writing out a female hormone prescription rather than an appropriate treatment. 3 year wait list for a specialist, turned up they day of to find it had been cancelled a year prior. No recourse, can't contact these people by phone, when you trick the accounting dept to put you through to the office you had the appointment with, they lose their shit on you. STD check request? You get some moron demanding to know why you feel the need for testing. Canada, btw. I haven't had health insurance in 9 years, the first 6 because that province I lived i flat out refused to issue a health card, and the last three i this province, just because I am so over their bullshit I no longer care, I ever get hurt bad enough again need help, I'll worry about it then I guess. They just tend to let you die anyways, as far as diseases, injuries they'll do what they can, but cancer and the like they wait you out.

Depends on what I'm going to the Dr for. If it's a physical injury that's bearable but not going away I can get an opinion from a pharmacist first then go to a Dr if they recommend, if it's something like a chest infection or other illness I can call a non emergencies line to get a Dr's opinion and they might ask me to come in for a physical checkup. If it's something more urgent than that then I guess just turn up at A&E and probably spend a few hours waiting in triage till there's a Dr who can see me.

The NHS is really struggling so I try to avoid going to the Dr for minor stuff but most of the time when I've deemed it big enough to need to see a Dr it's been pretty smooth for me. Only time I've had problems was when I injured my knee and couldn't walk properly then got bounced around for months after my x-ray showed that I hadn't fractured it, I was supposed to get a scan to check if it was muscle damage and when I turned up for said scan they just had a physio therapist tell me I need to walk on it more to exercise the muscles in my kneecap after the swelling from the initial damage weakened them.

Canada... Depends what kind of visit really. I captain a few rec teams, so breaks or dislocations, we'll go to emergency, get triaged and wait for a bit.

If it's somwthing I'd like to get checked out but not urgent, I'll schedule an appointment with my family dr, might take a week or 2?

For something sooner, I'll go to one of the several walk in clinics nearby. Wait time really varies but generally pretty quick as long as I get there a little early.

Italy

If it is a routine visit, one week. If you are sick a prescription is done via phone, you will find your needed medications already in the pharmacy or it will be coming in 3 days max. Your health records, allergies and needs are already in the doctor's database and your prescription will account for that.

Practices done in public infrastructure is free, and most presciption medications are too,

But we do have a very serious wait time problem with specialist visits. In the worst cases it can take more than a year if you need special visitations. There just aren't enough medics specialized to fill those positions, and who is available prefers less stressful and overworked positions.

Honestly depends.

If it's life or death urgent, an ambulance arrives, takes you away and with any luck, fix you right up. Visitors will likely have to pay to park at the hospital, and that will be your biggest expense. When my dad had a cardiac arrest, it was during covid, so the parking was free. The biggest expense was cleaning his blood off the carpets and putting their cat in the cattery for a week.

If it's something non-urgent, and the cause isn't immediately found by a doctor, then you might go on a waiting list and be seen in a few months maybe. And even then it might not get sorted. It's not like House.

The most annoying bit is the 8am phone roulette to try and get an appointment.

Call the place, if it is infectious they put you on sick leave and you don't have to infect all ppl at the doctor. If the sick leave runs out, most often 3 days or so mainly to get you to the next weekend. If the issue persists you got to them. Doesn't cost anything beyond what you pay in taxes. Anything that's more involved than the typical issues might have you go to several offices (general offices then to more specialised) until someone makes a decision on what it is and how to deal with it. Also no extra cost; those come when you have something that could be dealt with but is not needed. Like you will have a decent quality of life if they patch it every now and then instead of fixing it. Then you might have to pay for that special extra pls just fix it. At least that's been my experience in Germany.