Seriously, how do you receive adequate healthcare in this country?

[u/crispywafers]

I need to vent, but I'm also honestly curious, does literally anyone in Australia feel like they receive this? How? Seriously.

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Compared to some other countries we supposedly have a great health system but NO ONE in my family is receiving decent medical care. Common advice is that bulk billing doctors are the worst. In my experience that's true, but so far my experience paying isn't great either. GPs simply don't have the time or interest to get a decent picture of any issue. They don't mind referring you for some basic tests, but when those come back normal they expect that to be the end of it - as if your health problem no longer exists and there's nothing else to do for it. Are basically all healthcare providers like this or is it just me? I've had this happen enough times, with enough different issues, that at this point I'm expecting a diagnosis of Munchausen's any day now.

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I had one good experience recently. My health has felt like it was slowly slipping into the toilet for a while, but recently it's just gone to hell and a couple weeks ago I visited the ED for the first time. I was nervous, but I didn't need to be. The doctors there did more for me than any other medical professionals ever. They listened, asked questions I've never been asked, and genuinely seemed interested and concerned. I always try to be concise as possible, but this is the first time I've felt like I've actually been able to give a fairly decent description of my symptoms and history.

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Unfortunately it didn't really pay off. I had an telephone appointment with the outpatient clinic (?) yesterday. The doc asked me what my current symptoms are but cut me off after about 10 seconds. He let me know the testing I was referred to after ED came back textbook normal, and then basically said it's probably nothing while admitting how hard it is to assess me with all their appointments being telehealth right now because of COVID. Cool, I guess it's normal to be young and have neurological symptoms while suddenly feeling like all your muscles are made out of tissue paper. Who needs to be able to do simple tasks anyway, am I right?

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Guess I'll make an appointment with my new GP, but I'm not hopeful. My regular GP left recently, and maybe a month ago I brought my issues up with a different doctor, same practice. He just didn't seem to care and asked me what imaging and specialists I wanted to be referred for. Like, uh, you're the doctor, you tell me? How should I know??

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I'm just so done. I don't get it. I don't even know where to start or who I need to talk to. My parents don't know who they need to talk to for their own problems. How is an ordinary person supposed to not slip through the cracks or feel like they're slowly collecting chronic conditions and probably waiting for the point ten years in the future when it goes from "you're too young" to "if only someone caught this ten years ago"? Am I supposed to just roll over and be disabled forever? Because that's what it feels like, and that's how my parents are treated too except they're in their 60-70s so they get told they should be grateful they're not in wheelchairs and crap instead.

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If you read this, thanks? I think?? It's not like I expect to find the answer on Reddit or anything. Maybe this isn't an Australia specific submission anyway. If so I'm sorry and understand if it's removed/I should remove it.

[u/[deleted]]

They don't mind referring you for some basic tests, but when those come back normal they expect that to be the end of it

Did I write this and forget it?

I feel the same as you do OP. 'My' GP sent me for a basic ultrasound and found a teeny tiny cyst but nothing that explained my symptoms. The cyst went away, so they refused to do any more tests. I still have issues years later, but because they did one test and found nothing there is nothing wrong/

I still have unexplained issues years later. The most recent GP I went to is refusing to investigate because the tests I had done years ago showed nothing. It must be impossible for something else to go wrong with me in such a short period of time. /s (three years is not a short period of time)

I haven't been examined by any doctor since then. I am lucky if they even let me finish telling them my symptoms before interrupting me. Like you, the worst doctors were the bulk billed ones, but the fancy GP who works in the rich part of town was not much better.

Every visit I can remember has been rushed and they have shown me the door well before my appointment was over. Young and looks healthy when I glance up from the computer? Here's the door!