Thursday, October 29, 2020

Twitter Thread: Woman's Experience With Iceland's Healthcare System


Well doesn't this just sound like it's too good to be true. Too many Americans have had their rough go with trying to navigate a healthcare system that seems intended to ignite profound levels of frustration by its very design. Thus is not the case in Iceland though. 

1.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette When I lived in Iceland, I found a lump. Thad no idea how to navigate finding a doctor, so I went to our show's production manager. Me:I found a lump. Can you help me find a doctor? PM: Just go to the cancer center. Me: Okay. How do a get a referral? PM: What's a referral?

2.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette After I explain what a referral is, he looks baffled. PM: Just go to the cancer center. Me: But.referral? He shrugs and hands me the phone number to the cancer center. I call and explain. CC: A lump, ah yes. You should come in. Me: Don't I need a referral? CC: A what?

3.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette Having accepted that I don't need a referral, I say, "How do I make an appointment?" CC: An appointment? Yes, we can do that if your schedule is very busy, otherwise just come in. Me:I don't need an appointment? CC: You found a lump! You know your body, yes? Come in.

4.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette Solgo. The nurse checking me in apologizes because, since l'm not Icelandic, l'll have to pay for the visit. It's 3 krónur. That's 3 dollars at that point. I pay and sit down to wait. CC: Kowal? Me: Already? CC: You found a lump.

5.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette She escorts me into an examining room and palpates the area. CC: Yes, that does feel like a lump. Let's do a mammogram. I prepare to hear about making an appointment for that. CC: I'm sorry, but it's across the hall. Do you mind following me?

6.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal e @MaryRobinette I've been in the building for about twenty minutes at this point when I'm strapped into the mammogram - WHICH HAD WARMERS -- and she does her thing. CC: There is something there, you are right. I want to see it with an ultrasound. And then she leads me next door.

7.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette She does the ultrasound and when we're finished, she tells me to get dressed and to meet her in the waiting room. Ihead out to the changing room, put my top back on, and walk out to the waiting room. I sit down to wait. CC: Kowal? Me: Already? CC: It is only cyst.

8.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette Forty-five minutes after walking into the Icelandic Cancer Center and 3 krónur poorer, I had the answer. In the US, a similar lump took two weeks and three different office visits. Ithink about this every time I have to fight with medical insurance in the US.

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