Which country are you in and what’s a typical doctor visit like? How much? Wait time? Etc
I call my Dr.
I book an appointment. If urgent but not medically urgent to my immediate wellbeing I can get in in a week or so.
If urgent, but not emergency, I can go to a clinic or the hospital non emergency (hospital can have wait times up to several hours)
If emergency and severe or traumatic injury or life threatening - emergency at hospital. Triage assesses need. Last time I had to take someone it was maybe a 20 minute wait - they had been hurt pretty bad - got jumped.
None of any of the above will cost me any money.
An ambulance, though, costs like 75$ if it is not life threatening.
Canada.
The hospitals usually have a severity for triage. If you broke your arm your going to be waiting longer than someone with a sever allergic reaction. Which makes sense, some injuries can wait longer than others.
That part is normal in US emergency rooms as well.
Because, logic.
But since money interferes with logic in so many ways it seemed necessary to mention it.
Sorry. The “money” part didn’t actually factor in for me because I’m in Canada and it wasn’t on my mind. Doesn’t mean we don’t pay for it through taxes I just mean it wasn’t on my mind. I just meant greater severity should equal earlier service.
Yes. If I have to wait in the ER, I try to think of it as a sign that I’m going to be okay.
Extremely fast service, or people suddenly starting to be really really nice to you, means something very bad is going on.
But the wait times in US emergency rooms are longer since people are there who are unable to get the care they need elsewhere or they haven’t been able to afford to go to the doctor and have no waited until it’s an emergency.
Honestly, as someone who’s spent a lot of time in emergency departments, it depends a lot on the hospital and the time of day. Sometimes they’re packed and sometimes they’re almost empty. (At those times it’s very important not to invite disaster by mentioning how quiet it is.) Having an Urgent Care in the same place for Triage to divert people into helps a lot as well.
Can confirm the same thing, there have been times where I’ve gone in, checked in, and speaking to the doctor within 20 minutes of stepping in the door - whereas other times I’ve waited 5+ hours to even be given a room to sit in (and then wait another couple of hours for a doctor to see me).
I think your definition of “urgent” might be off if you think that it can wait a week or so.
No that tracks for me, and I work in Healthcare in the US just the same. I personally had what I perceived as urgent but non-emergent and got into my doctor within a week.
I would go to urgent care (I know it’s in the name but alas) if I had more pressing concerns or symptoms were bad but not life-threatening.
I would go to the ER if I was in massive pain and felt at imminent risk of death.
“Emergency” and “urgent” are different categories in hospitals.
And actually defined, at least in my local Canadian hospital.
Urgent Care is defined as infections, lacerations, wounds, less serious injuries, minor Pediatric illness, situational crisis support, Women’s Health services, contraceptive management, etc. So stuff that “could” wait about a week if necessary. I find they can get to stuff much sooner, based on anything I’ve needed or reports from friends and family.
Germany. When I am sick I call my doctor in the morning ask what time would be best to go there as to not wait too long. Then I go there, wait maybe an hour sometimes because he likes taking time for his patients, tell him my symptoms, get a sick note for work and possibly a prescription if I need medication.
I dont pay anything for the visit. If I need medication I will go to the pharmacy near my flat after the visit give them my health card, get my medication and depending on what drug I got pay a little bit, maybe 5€ , maybe a bit more.
Dont forget you can write sick threw phone call now
Yeah but you need to go there once a quartal to give them your insurance card. So if you are sick less than that you still need to go every time.
I’ve heard there should be another option, iirc bringing the card in later when you’re not sick/infectious anymore (better for everyone methinks), but that this takes extra administration on their side and so they mostly refuse to acknowledge you have this legal option. Or so a colleague mentioned some months ago, I probably mix up some details
Ah ja stimmt
From US and was visiting Singapore when I came down with a sinus infection.
Took the elevator from the government controlled housing to the ground floor.
Walked 5 minutes to the attached small community strip mall which consisted of cheap food options, a grocery/convenience store, and a number of essential stores including a small drs office.
Waited 15 minutes, saw the dr. Explained my condition, allergies and medication I usually take and went through the exam. We had to help look up some of the medication names.
Paid $35 for the exam. There was some confusion because I expected it to cost more and I asked about. They apologized and said that since I’m foreign I had to pay full price.
Walked across the mall to the small pharmacy. Waited 5 minutes for the antibiotics prescription. Paid maybe $5?
Bought some tea from the grocery and was better over a few days.
People from the US who travel and need healthcare know very well our system is the worst.
People from the US who travel and need healthcare know very well our system is the worst.
I mean, we don’t turn to witch doctors, so I guess we’re not literally the worst, but…
There’s a sizeable portion that tout hopes and prayers as a cure, and plenty of faith healers off the highways. May not be the bongo drums and carved masks you imagine, but it’s witch doctors all the same.
Yeah, but that’s a minority of the country.
25% or about half of the voters is technically a minority.
I’d rather go to some nice lady who know what all herbs do what than Dr fuckin oz
Dude shut up this comment was so unnecessary
Guess you don’t get to Canada much. People that actually need fixed now head to the states and pay, and are usually impressed by the treatment, both personal and medical. It’s often life or death though, die waiting here or don’t.
Sweden.
A few alternatives:
- I could book an appointment at the local health center. I would probably get a time at the earliest next week, and it would cost me $30. Health center doctors are generally quite overworked, and can sometimes be a bit dismissive of your issues in my experience, but they will help you. If you need specialist care, they will give you a referral, which could take several months depending on the priority of the case and the type of specialist.
- I could use an app to get access to a video call with a doctor, after having described my symptoms in the app. I would get a video call the same day and it would cost me $30. Given the remote nature of this kind of contact, they can be a bit limited in what they can do for you, but will try to help you regardless. If your case requires in-person examination, they will ask you to go to a health center instead. If you need specialist care, they will give you a referral and you’ll have to wait the same amount of time as for a referral in the health center scenario.
- I am lucky enough to have a private health insurance plan through my employer. If I have any problems, I’ll submit them to this private health insurer, and they put a human on the case and connects me with a specialist right away if the problem warrants one. Typically this happens the same or the next day. This costs me nothing, apart from what I pay in benefit taxes to be on the private health insurance plan.
All in all, things work fairly well in Sweden, but having gotten private health insurance has definitely jaded me a bit on account of how much better the experience is when you have that. If only the public system wasn’t systematically underfunded and run by the dumbest politicians on offer in the country, then maybe everyone could have great patient experience.
Does these costs count towards the högkostnadsskydd? (cost ceiling)
Yes, but there are two different ones - one for medical appointments and one for medicine.
What sort of money does one need to spend in Sweden to get private health insurance? Can you stop paying the government one if you have that? (In Germany, I’m publicly insured so idk private prices, but you pay either one and not both, it’s not like normal taxes that you always pay)
You can’t opt out of government-provided health insurance. It’s not even really referred to as health insurance, it’s really just referred to as health care.
I get my additional private health insurance paid for by my employer, so I never actually pay myself, but the same one seems to be going for about €110 a month.
I don’t know that I would buy it if I had to pay myself, but I’m quite happy to get it for the small amount of additional taxes I have to pay on the benefit from the employer.
Thanks! Good system that you can’t opt out imo, everyone needs to at least fund it even if (perhaps not good but idk) not everyone needs to also use it (thinking of rich people in power)
Brazil.
If I’m at home and simply unwell, I can walk to the neighborhood clinic (one specific clinic based on my address) and get checked - that usually takes half an hour to a couple hours, but it may not always have a doctor available.
So most people skip the local clinic completely and go to a municipal hospital instead (something doctors often plead people not to do). These should always have a couple doctors available and they’ll see anybody - even if you have no documents. When you get there a nurse will check your pulse and stuff and ask some questions to determine your priority level, then the waiting time can go up to 4 hours if it’s low priority.
If you need specific exams, that will depend on how well equipped the hospital is. Many will do it right there, some will request it from other cities and that may take time, so there’s the option of doing it in private clinics too.
No matter what you may end up needing, if you do it through the public health system you won’t need to pay anything at all. Even experimental treatments and surgeries can get arranged. But there’s always the option of going to private clinics as well. Those can have much shorter waiting times.
Based on my limited experience, this is what people seem to do for each kind of visit:
Emergencies: pretty much everybody go to public hospitals. Most places don’t even have private options for this.
Basic check up: most people will use the public system first, unless it’s something very specific and they are well financially.
Dental care: most people who won’t be financially crippled by it will go private. People tend to stick with the same dentist once they find a good one. On the public system you never know who you might be seeing.
Eye doctor: 50/50. There are nearly as many private options for this as there are for dental care, but a lot of them suck.
Expensive exams and operations: people will try to get them for free at first, or through some Health insurance plan they may have from work. Everybody knows someone who’s been waiting months for something on the public system.
United Kingdom, Dorset.
My 3 year old daughter was vomiting and not keeping liquids down. Phoned the non-emergency line and after a bit of a wait, spoke to them and went through the script.
Was told to go to A&E and we would be expected. After a short wait there, was led down to the children’s ward and she was given a bed in her own room. She was put on a drip, had antibiotics and kept in overnight. By the end of the following day she was able to keep down water and some toast so was discharged.
Had a follow on call from a GP the next day, she was back to normal in a couple of days.
Cost: £0 (I contribute to the NHS through general taxation)
This has been pretty much our experience too when our kids have been ill, except they didn’t have their own room but a small ward.
Yes I think we got lucky with the room, perhaps it was just a quiet period
That sounds kind of scary, did they actually get to the bottom of what happened or was it just “Hey, she can eat toast now, you’re free to go!”
Yes it was gastroenteritis, luckily she bounced back quite quickly!
Germany,rural area.
I call my GP. It might take a few tries to get through. Tell the receptionist what I’ve got, she is more or less trying to triage me. When it’s urgent enough and I am calling early enough I can usually get there on the same day but have to wait longer at the office,if it’s less serious it’s mostly one or two days,but with less waiting time at the office. To check in you hand them your insurance card. Medication is prescribed electronically, so you just hand the card (or do it online) at the pharmacy. The GP visit is free, medication has a small, limited copay. You get fully paid for 6 weeks of sickness per diagnosis by your employer, reduced pay for up to 2 years by the health insurance.
If it’s an illness requiring a specialist I can also try to book an appointment for that directly - but while that works well in larger cities it is totally impossible here, you simply won’t get an appointment, not even in a year. The same happens when your GP refers you to a specialist,but there are mechanisms to give you a more urgent appointment - which works sometimes,sometimes they don’t.
UK here. This is all “free” (i.e. paid for by a significant portion of every paycheck I ever earn via tax).
I phone my GP. They say you have I call at 0830 to get an appointment. Call back tomorrow. I ask for an advance appointment and they say they have nothing for 6+ weeks. So I call back the next day and the line is constantly busy. I get through at 0837 after mashing redial constantly. I’m told the appointments are all gone and I should call back tomorrow again. They suggest “if it’s urgent then go to the A&E department”…which is clearly inappropriate for my problem. So I call back the next day. The next day I happen to get through at 0833 and they take my details. I’m told the doctor will call me back at some point later that day. Spend the day watching the phone, but can’t answer it because I’m work. Duck out of something really important at work to take the call, I’m told to come to the GP later in the day. Later in the day I have work stuff I can’t just leave immediately, so I ask for an appointment the next day. Get told to phone back at 0830 the next day to make an appointment.
I’ve figured out a way to short circuit the system. There’s a national urgent medical line (111) and I have to answer the operator’s questions for 20 min (am I bleeding profusely? Am I unable to breathe? Am I going to die imminently?). Finally, they’re able to allocate an appointment for my own GP at a sensible time the next day…apparently thesr guys have access to appointments with my GP which the fucking GP won’t give me. Great! I go to the GP to be seen by a FY2 doctor (i.e. 15 months posts undergraduate qualification), this guy admits that he doesn’t know what he’s doing, that he’ll speak to the GP later and phone me back with the outcome later that day. He phones me back later that day saying they don’t know what to do so they’re going to refer me to a hospital specialist, the hospital appointment should be sent to me in 10 months or so.
The few times I have had to go to the A&E department with my kid, I’ve taken chargers, entertainment devices, extra coat for my kid to use as a blanket, food (2 full packed meals), water, video game console…I’m expecting to be there for about 6 hours if things move really quickly.
The state of national healthcare in this country. Thank you Conservatives, for 13 years of record low investment.
There’s a national urgent medical line (111)
What? I’ve been lied to. I was told the UK line was 0118 999 881 999 119 725… 3
I have health insurance in the US and still have to pay a fuckton in copays to use it.
In early May, I searched GPs on my Healthcare plan, and I get to see a doctor on Jully 11.
Some hospitals are horribly staffed like this. In Sweden I had this problem until I changed to a different (government-owned) GP.
Germany: If I’m sick and want an appointment asap I just go. They tell you to call in advance but if you do they give you an appointment for another day and if you just rock up they tell you to sit down and wait for the doc. Which can take anywhere between 5 minutes and 5 hours, at least that’s about the range I’ve experienced. Oh and not sure if that’s only a thing here but it’s common to awkwardly greet the other patients when you get into the waiting area.
Seeing the doc would be similar to the US I guess, except there’s no need to discuss money. Doctors shake hands here, maybe that’s different from you but Idk. After the appointment you check in with the front desk again to fetch any prescriptions (although those are mostly digital since last year) and notes you may need for work. That’s also the time to book a follow up appointment if you need one.
Cost depends on what you got. Getting extensive bloodwork or some less “necessary” exams for example aren’t covered by insurance. There’s a flat 5€ fee for prescription meds and 10€ per day in a clinic. If you don’t have enough money you can let the insurance company know and they’ll cover some of those fees too.
There’s a flat 5€ fee for prescription meds and 10€ per day in a clinic
Jesus… As an American, we already pay $1,200 a month for the privilege of paying $50+ just to walk into the doctors office. Forget prescriptions or testing…
We do also get money taken directly out of our pay check for health insurance. So it isn’t just the 5 euro fee. But I think it manages to be considerably less, since everyone is required to have insurance. I think that brings down the cost for everyone.
Yes, average healthcare costs per year in the US was $ 13,432 per capita and in Germany was $ 8,441 per capita in 2023 (PPP adjusted). Germany is the third most expensive comparable country, second most expensive was Switzerland with $ 9,688.
UK national healthcare btw. was $ 6,023, so less than half of US costs.
compared to the average healthcare costs in all US-comparable countries of $ 7,393, the US manages to spend nearly double.
This is what absolutely kills me about the people around me in this country…
The owner of a company has an idea of your total value, your “compensation.” They factor in the cost of healthcare in that calculation, so we’re still paying for the insurance and yet so many people see it as “their company pays for it, if we had universal healthcare then I would have to pay a tax!” … mother fucker you already pay the “tax” for a much worse, more expensive system where people still aren’t covered…
Also Germany: I live rural. Most times I’ve gone I see the doctor itv takes than 30 minutes, but it depends on who else is there obviously. First come first served.
Interesting that they ask you to call in advance. I’ve never had that. We can, if we want an after midday appointment for something specific.
Yes, the awkward “Moin”. Definitely!
There used to be a 15 euro per quarter charge when using the local doctor. They scrapped that a few years ago.
All the blood work I’ve had has been free. But I’m not sure what you meant by extensive. I take a lot of anti biotics, so they check my liver numbers occasionally.
But yeah, generally a similar experience to you.
Yeah, I’ll pass sitting in a small room with more sick people.
Don’t you think if this was an issue we’d have addressed it by now? 😅
Call ahead and schedule an appointment saying you are sick and need the AU for the employer?
Give them a call. Generally get an appointment within 2 days.
Get told to take paracetamol for 2 weeks and make another appointment if the problem persists.Drs are generally on time maybe 10 min behind but when I was in Australia they would regularly get up to an hour late.
Costs are generally subsidied by the national government so unless something comes up unexpectedly there is no cost. If something does then you pay a fee and your private health takes care of the rest.
Why do you have private healthcare?
Australia has a dual system of private and public health coverage.
You get access to public health services but as with all public health services things take time. If you have private health insurance you get a faster access to specialists. Public health doesn’t do stuff like dental or physiotherapy where private cover does.
In addition to what slazer said, in Australia once you earn over a certain amount you get hit with an extra tax if you don’t take out private health. The conservative coalition brought that in a long time ago because their donor mates in private health asked them to ruin our public health care and this was their first step towards that.
I still have private cover as it seems like the least bad option even though it pisses me off. I guess that’s the point.
Germany:
I call the office
I schedule a time (and maybe a date if it’s not urgent)
I go there
I get my treatment (advice), a prescription and if needed when to reschedule
I go to the apothecary and redeem my medication (usually without extra charges. But some arent subsidized 100% and you need to pay the remaining)
I get better again
I start workingI’m an American, but when I lived in Japan, I needed to go to the doctor a few times. Honestly, the experience isn’t great aside from it being cheap.
For example, I herniated a disc in my neck at one point and needed to go to the emergency department. I got there just after 10:00 a.m. and was told that they stop accepting patients at 10:00. “Fortunately”, I was unable to hold my head up straight, so they decided to see me anyway. The appointment was just over the equivalent of $20 at the time. They prescribed a muscle relaxer and sent me on my way. The prescription could be filled a block or two away and was pretty quick and only cost about 10 bucks. (Edit: I should note that this was a very temporary solution. The problem lasted for years.)
Another time, I went to a clinic to try to get a sinus infection treated. I had/have a history of chronic sinus infections. Despite speaking pretty good Japanese and having a dictionary with me, I could not get them to understand the concept of a sinus infection. They put me on a nebulizer and then sent me home. Obviously not helpful. Don’t remember what it cost.
Canadian here. My son just had an ear infection that was lasting 3 days. On the 3rd morning we called our doctors office to have it checked. They were able to squeeze us in at noon. Took him, and they couldn’t tell if it was viral or bacterial, so suggested we wait and see if it clears. Didn’t clear after another 2 days, but it was the weekend now. Called 811 and they contacted a medical center to make us an appointment in the morning. Next morning (Sunday now) office called us, made an appointment and saw him again. This time we got a prescription for some antibiotics.
I’ve taken a course about anti-microbial resistance and I understand that doctors are instructed not to go with antibiotics first thing so it didn’t really bother me to go back a second time. It was nice they it was easy to be seen again even if it wasn’t with the family doctor.
Australia
- for non-urgent regular things book with my GP in an app (pretty sure that’s the case for most GPs too). usually an appointment within a few days; sometimes he’s booked out for a couple of weeks, but if i don’t feel like waiting i can book anywhere else. when i go to my appointment, tests etc are all free. i go to a private clinic so i pay $75AUD (~$50USD) and the govt reimburses me $45 of that - public clinics are free but i go to a speciality clinic
- for non-urgent sick things (or anything really - scripts etc too; i just use it when i don’t want to go to my GP) we have home doctor service: you book in an app and a doctor will come to your house the same day - free
- for specialists the waiting period can depend on what it is, but i have had a 3mo wait for a specialist before :(… usually you go to your GP, get a referral, see a specialist, then perhaps have surgery if necessary. it can be a months long wait for surgeries which is not great, buuuuut it’s also great to go in for day surgery in the morning, and just leave later that day without paying a cent
- for emergency, unfortunately you can be waiting for a few hours… they triage you so i’m sure if it’s a real issue you wouldn’t keep you waiting but for things like potentially broken bones you can be waiting for up to 3hr… it’s all free
- for ambulance it differs per state but in my state (victoria) they aren’t - it’s ~$1400 for an emergency trip. you can also buy ambulance membership for $53/y and it’s free
pretty much anything where i’ve talked about costs or free you give them your medicare (federal health system for everyone - not just low income etc) details and they bill the govt a set amount for time and materials used. GP clinics etc store it on file so sometimes you can just walk out without talking to anyone
Ex had gallbladder issues that ran in the family.
One night she had bad abdominal pain. Drive over and rush her to hospital. Gets in 15 minutes. Nurses provide aid and pain relief, night shift ER doc looks her over, determines is likely gall bladder and it needs to be removed based on pain. Morning doctor looks her over, says it’s not bad enough to warrant immediate attention, sends her home with painkillers, an appointment for an ultrasound and a 6 month-ish waitlist for removal.
–
Two nights later, same story, she opts for an ambulance this time. This time the same night shift doctor stays a bit late to ensure that she gets an ultrasound right away.
Gets sent home after the ultrasound and told that they will phone with next steps same day.
11am, go back to the hospital, get told that she is being admitted for immediate gallbladder removal. Ended up taking a day and a half to get to the surgery because of a bad motorcycle accident then two emergency c-sections tired out the only surgeon available and his staff over a straight 24 hour shift. 8 hours sleep and she was first up. Got it out, follow up at a nurse practitioner to get the drain removed.
Cost to us: $0
