Health care is too expensive

I spend a lot of time with patients trying to get them healthy. I don't mean just prescribing medication, although I do that. I mean talking about other things they can do to stay or to get physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy.

One of my common recommendations is journaling. There are a ton of good books about journaling and the benefits you can get from the practice. I recommend The New Diary by Tristine Rainer. I love the tone of the book and I feel like it is inspiring without being preachy or weird in that touchy-feely, free-love sort of way that it is easy to fall into when talking about accessing your inner wisdom. 

Journaling is an inner wisdom thing; you try to find the answer you know but can't identify because you are too hard on yourself. Your best friend loses something and you say, "Don't worry, you did the best you could." But if you lose the same thing your inner voice calls you stupid, dumb, loser, insert your inner voice put-down here. It isn't pretty.

I've recently had some patients unhappy about the cost of their visits. Three out of 80 patients isn't a bad ratio, but it still bugs me. Unhappy patients, no matter what the reason, trigger my need to journal. It took a migraine headache and 4 journal pages to realize that my frustration came down to agreement. The cost is outrageous…and I have no control over it. 

Nationally, the average support needed in a healthcare clinic is 2.5 full time staff per provider (or up to 5.8 staff depending on the resource you use). At least one of those is dedicated to billing. Every insurance company wants something different. The same problem may have to be coded in 3 different ways for 3 different insurers to cover. This means that every patient that walks into the clinic has to pay for at least 3.5 staff positions. It's not fair, but that is the reality. It isn't the only reason for the cost, of course, but I wish more people understood it. 

I also wish people understood that I don't choose what they pay. All I do is see people, treat them the best way I know how, and chart what we did. There is some complicated way that the price is figured. I don't know how it works, and it is one reason I am not self employed. I would prefer if no one had to pay for health care. But that would mean that the system would not exist. It's a catch-22. Hospitals and clinics have to charge for services or they can't pay providers. If providers don't get paid, they can't eat. I like to eat. Eating allows me to see patients.

So, I apologize in advance. It is certainly not more expensive to see me than it is to see anyone else, but I apologize for the state of the entire system. It isn't perfect, but it's the one we are stuck with. The best I can offer you is advice; find a provider that you like and who helps you get and stay healthy and see them as rarely as possible because you are following the advice they give you.

Pets for longer life

I am nearly a 40-year-old woman and I have never had my own pet. I couldn't have just any pet because we already have a very large doberman named Madonna and most pets could be eaten by her. Madonna barks at cats and bullies other dogs; she is a little high strung. So I chose a pet that lives in a cage…and happens to  require temperature control, a light schedule and hours of bonding time.

My baby, Persephone, is a three month old hedgehog, and is a lot of work. She has an exercise wheel that she uses every night and does most of her pottying on it. Yes, it's as messy as it sounds. She huffs at you when she is scared and jumps with her quills standing up so that you get poked. Hedgehogs are nocturnal and are prey animals so they take a lot of time to get used to you because they think you are going to eat them, most likely.

My husband had a Doberman when we got married. She was his baby. He took her with to worksites, she slept at the foot of his bed and she ate about everything that he ate. He covered her up when the house was a little chilly and even had a doggy coat specially made for her. I thought she was spoiled rotten. I guess she was, but he was happier for having her in his life.

Now, I understand that a pet is not just a pet. We spend a lot of our time with our pets. Dogs will follow you around and make you feel like a hero every time you come home, even if you were only gone for 10 minutes. Persephone has stopped huffing at me and trying to poke me with her sharp quills. It makes me happy. Even taking care of her hedgie house, aka cage, makes me happy. Research shows that people with pets are happier and healthier. I get it.

Last night, I had a dream that Persephone died. I realized the attachment I have to her when I woke up crying and went to be sure she was okay. The death of a pet for some can be more traumatic than the death of a human family member. I have patients that cry over a pet's death and then apologize because "it was only a dog." I believe that pets are worth the mourning that we do when they die.

I am going to enjoy my baby and all the work that goes into caring for her. I am going to feed her mealworms, no matter how icky, so that she has a good, comfortable and long life. She is making my life longer and happier. Oh, and pokier, too!