07-10-2006, 04:55 AM
Aloha, all. The healthcare situation here on the Big Island is one of the biggest downers, if not the biggest, to living here for some people. The shortage of physicians willing to live and work on the East side baffles me. It seems like more doctors would catch on to all the great reasons to want to live here, but the lack of primary care resources seems to get worse as our population grows. The politicians occasionally shake their heads and moan along with the rest of us, but seem unable to do anything. Is the cost of doing medical business here outrageous for some reason?
Also, it seems odd that there are apparently several plastic surgeons on the island who feel a need to advertise in the paper for business, but no cardiologist. It impresses me as somewhat unfair for HMSA, the local Blue Cross entity, sells policies to folks when none of their doctors in Hilo (or anywhere nearby) are accepting new patients.
Thank goodness my partner and I have only "nuissance" medical issues and no major problems. I chose Kaiser because they were available, and I have to say that my care after a year and a half has been acceptable. This is despite their reputation for being cost-obsessed. I should add that it helps to be assertive if you need to be seen right away by the doc rather than wait for the next available appointment. If you are really ill and need to be seen right away, you have to make it very clear to the triage nurse.
To their credit, all the insurance/treatment entities liberally ship folks to Oahu for things that can't be handled here. One wonders, however, how many people could have been saved irreparable harm by being served more quickly locally.
Do other isolated communities of similar size in the USA have the same sorts of issues? Would we feel as put upon if we could simply drive to Honolulu? Lots of room for discussion here.
Jerry
Also, it seems odd that there are apparently several plastic surgeons on the island who feel a need to advertise in the paper for business, but no cardiologist. It impresses me as somewhat unfair for HMSA, the local Blue Cross entity, sells policies to folks when none of their doctors in Hilo (or anywhere nearby) are accepting new patients.
Thank goodness my partner and I have only "nuissance" medical issues and no major problems. I chose Kaiser because they were available, and I have to say that my care after a year and a half has been acceptable. This is despite their reputation for being cost-obsessed. I should add that it helps to be assertive if you need to be seen right away by the doc rather than wait for the next available appointment. If you are really ill and need to be seen right away, you have to make it very clear to the triage nurse.
To their credit, all the insurance/treatment entities liberally ship folks to Oahu for things that can't be handled here. One wonders, however, how many people could have been saved irreparable harm by being served more quickly locally.
Do other isolated communities of similar size in the USA have the same sorts of issues? Would we feel as put upon if we could simply drive to Honolulu? Lots of room for discussion here.
Jerry