🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <27stiv$p05@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov> alan@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov (Alan S. Mazer) writes:
>My point in all of this is "learn to work the system".  Be demanding.  Or
>if you really find another system that works better, switch.  But I have 
>enough advantages with Kaiser (same day appointments, cheap prescriptions,
>weekend walk-in with 20 min wait max) that I'm hesitant to switch.

Your advice and observations are very accurate, Alan.

I've been both in and out of the Kaiser system (currently in, by choice).  For
some things, like diabetes (my wife is Type I), Kaiser is extremely good.
For certain types of emergencies, though, Kaiser is not your best choice.  Back
when my foot was almost amputated in an accident I was very glad I wasn't with
Kaiser.  Without hassle I was sent to the trauma center (Ralph K. Davies med
center at Franklin Hospital) and was operated on by one of the doctors who
pioneered the microsurgery techniques that saved my foot (in a six-hour
operation).

Had I been with Kaiser at that time, I feel it is much more likely that my
foot would have been amputated.  During one of my numerous followup visits,
I talked to a man who had a reattached thumb who was a Kaiser member.
Fortunately, he knew about the trauma center at the time of the accident and
was persistent enough that they sent him there.  Had he not known about the
trauma center, he would be thumbless (or using a prosthesis) now.

Even given that, though, I think for everyday and long term *health* care (as
opposed to sick care, which is what you get from most insurance programs), I
think Kaiser is one of the best and that is why I am on that health plan.

No matter what your health plan is, though, or who your doctor (or other health
care provider) is you get the best care if you make yourself knowledgable about
your medical condition and ASK QUESTIONS.  Most people are too timid to
question their health care providers, and lacking knowledge of your medical
condition and treatment(s) is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.  In
the long term, the person most responsible for your health care is you.

-Pete Zakel
 (phz@cadence.com or ..!uunet!cadence!phz)

You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.