OT: The General Practioner in Australia is f:;($ed, discuss

[Tank Engine]

Went to see a GP this morning with a suspected rib fracture.
He groped me for 30 secs and sent me off to X-ray. On return he looked at the X-rays (I'd already done the same) and told me I had no fracture and to use some Mutsal cream and don't exercise.

He could barely speak english but worst, didn't give a flying f.

Went to a Physio who dianogised the issue, killed me on her bench in a good way, gave me a regime of excercises for a recovery program to get me on track for the MTB race I'm prepping for.

The modern day GP in the country is faaarked IMO and the bulk of them have the communication skills of a wet lettuce.

[IML337]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a3zXJ7biqI#t=1m30s

[The Pork Hunt]

[IML337]

that guy is doing it wrong - he should take off his desert boots...

[Not Steve]

Not just Australia. Last year I was in Kuala Lumpur and ate or drank something nasty. The Malaysian dudes I was with were sick as, too, so I went to a doctor in the same shopping mall as my hotel (yeah) and was diagnosed with acute pharyngitis.

No ****. I could have told the dude that my throat was ****ed up, but what about the rest of me?

I was hurling all night... no wonder my throat was irritated. The fever, upset stomach, ****s, prior history, etc, were all disregarded. I was given drugs to make me better and because I was so out of it I didn't know any better and took them, and my guts haven't been the same since. Just FYI.

[mdt]

I blame Ryan.

[smarm]

I blame society.

[MickyD]

I've had more than my fair share of doctors visits over the last 10 years, and they've varied from absolutely incompetent, with the bedside manner of Josef Mengele, to a couple of them in particular who are staggeringly good. I guess it's just like any industry, but people are a bit more sensitive/aware of it when it's their own health at stake.

[shauno]

My local GP's are pretty good, but their charge rates are multiples of the Medicare schedule fee - so maybe you just get what you pay for.

I went to a bulk-billed GP once, I didn't care for it.

[auR32]

Last time I went, I had saved up a few issues. Rang the Doc, got an appt for several days hence, turned up on time, only to wait 45mins while she caught up...

Dealt with the main issue (Flu or something, can't remember) and then the Doc started to get petulant with me as I raised the others. So I asked WTF? and got told I should book an 'extended' appt if I want the doc to deal with more than one!

So the reason they run late in that practice? Communication failure combined with assigning unachievable consult durations. Probably the same as most other practices...

Standard of medicine seemed fine to me. Apparently they don't take on any new patients in that clinic. I guess they're hoping they die before all the patients

[Jim Bookie]

every doctor i've been to has been overloaded, over-scheduled or whatever and they want to get you in and out in the quickest time possible. we want this at the supermarket, not where your own health is involved, and you're trying to get extra info and they give you abbreviated answers, and not much of a defined programme to go along.

[Timbo_S3]

oh well, I guess you can always just turn up at A&E, as I did a few years ago, with a severe gut-ache, be examined by some junior numpty obviously distracted by the druggie in the next bed, and be prescribed an antacid -- only to be re-admitted for an emergency appendectomy 6 hours later, after I roused my GP from his slumbers.

GPs are like everyone else; you need to develop a relationship with them. The problem is, in these days of corporate and government super-clinics, that's getting harder and harder.

[TheHamofMam]

Bulk billers need to process quickly in order to make money close to that of the non-bulk-billing GPs.
You get what you pay for.
I'm also stunned at how few GPs know how to take a blood pressure readings manually.

[The Pork Hunt]

Guess i must be the odd one out, been goin to the same local GP most of my life, hes a top bloke, pillar of the local community, easy to get into if you know the system/desk lady, always time for a chat about local politics and family and the like and i dont need my arse wiped for me just a point in the right direction, easy like.

[dkr]

Paging Dr Lexus...

[steve2gtis]

In my experience, it is so hard to get an appt with a GP that you need to accept what you can get. The system is the problem. I blame the government.

[sweatyworker]

My GP is a bulk biller and he's pretty good. He has a system where you roll up at 9.00am and join the queue. If you want an appointment they are after 1.00pm. Works pretty well. He wasn't taking new patients till he split with his last practice (Dr who owned it is a numpty). Found him as he used to do walk ins on Saturday mornings. Also greek so has a big community following

Also I've been in emergency four times in Melbourne and once in Perth and also had an operation in a public hospital in Perth. Can't say anything bad about any of those experiences

[Peter Ian Staker]