Saturday, February 6, 2021

Twitter Thread: A Woman's Experience With Icelandic Healthcare


Man, this detailed account of a woman's experience navigating the healthcare in Iceland is something special. It sounds like it was magically simple. 

1.

Text - Mary Robinette Kowal O @MaryRobinette When I lived in Iceland, I found a lump. I had 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 Ko.. After I explain what a referral is, he looks baffled. 19h 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? 26 27 1,057 14K

3.

Text - . O 19h Mary Robinette Ko.. 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. ♡ 26 27 1,077 ♡ 15.4K

4.

Text - Mary Robinette Ko.. O · 19h So I go. The nurse checking me in apologizes because, since I'm not Icelandic, '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. 20 27 1,000 ♡ 15.1K

5.

Text - Mary Robinette Ko.. O 19h 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? 27 828 ♡ 12.7K

6.

Text - Mary Robinette Ko.. O · 19h 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. 25 27 820 13.1K

7.

Text - Mary Robinette Ko. She does the ultrasound and 19h when we're finished, she tells me to get dressed and to meet her in the waiting room. I head 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. O 15 27 775 12.6K

8.

Text - Mary Robinette Ko. Forty-five minutes after walking 19h 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. I think about this every time I have to fight with medical insurance in the US. 198 27 4,699 36.2K

9.

Text - Mary Robinette Ko. PS for clarity, I used my surname, but I'm pretty sure it was my first name the entire time, because Iceland. 19h PPS Why don't all mammograms have warmers? 184 27 786 ♡ 19.1K

10.

Text - 15h Mary Robinette Ko. PPPS I said 3 kronur, but it was actually 300 kronur. I got so used to throwing an imaginary decimal place in there to do conversions in my head that I botched it in the thread. The bit about being it basically three bucks though, that was the point. o 62 27 447 9,701

Submitted by:

Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)