Beyond The Ridiculous

It is only in the United States that consumers have to access a physician in order to find their test results. In other countries, the consumer comes first.  They are after all, paying for all this nonsense in the first place.  The consumer pays the insurance company, physician, laboratory and drug companies.  Yet, we are the LAST to have access to our health information. We have historically been kept in the dark, at least since the Flexner Report in the 1920s took everything into a more high tech, antiseptic world.  The physician gained ground, while the consumer was secondary.  That and the American Medical Association who made the laws.  The consumer became PATIENT. The consumer gave their power over to the medical establishment as well as more of their money.

Some physicians now have portals that allow customers access to their information.  I appreciate that.  But if another physician orders a test, say a gynecologist orders a bone density study and you request a courtesy copy to go to another physician, you have to go through your gynecologist to get the test result.  As I understand this, it has to do with HIPPA laws which absolutely make no sense.  They do make sense in that the ordering physician gets to invite you in for another paying appointment to give you the test results.  It is annoying especially if that physician does not have a portal.

I have learned a nice lesson and will consider making different choices about which physician I use in the future.  I will use a physician who is timely.

All of this is beyond the ridiculous! Another reason why I stay out of the physician's office.