Watching from Abroad....

The health care reform has passed in the States and as an ex-pat, I'm interested! Rather a double edged sword if you ask me -- living in both systems, I can argue both sides. I like being here and the relief I felt when I was admitted to the hospital and was then told I wouldn't be paying for my stay - well, that changed my mood entirely. I could focus on getting better, not worrying about how I was going to pay for three days and a lot of meds.

On the other hand, as an American, I loved the social interactions with your doctor. The closeness, the systematic blood pressure or weight checks, the fact that your doctor knows you near enough better than you know yourself. If there was a problem - it would most likely be spotted, and spotted quickly.

Here in the UK, if you have a problem and go to the doctor to get it investigated, you will wait ages for an appointment, see your doctor for five minutes, they will send you for blood work. When you ring back to set up a follow up appointment a few days later, the receptionist will then tell you that your bloodwork was ok. Sorry - does that actually answer the problem?

As you can see, I've got a proper issue with this system. I've been voluntarily starving myself for next to a month, dropped a dress size, have been to the doctor telling her I feel ill when I eat and the result? Nothing.

Phone tag commences again tomorrow. I will get to the bottom of this. Either that - or I'll faint and end up in hospital. Post mortems must be a delight in this country....