What my own care taught me about how good health care can be

A number of my past blog posts have criticized medical care in the United States. Actually, I am very proud and honored to be a physician and am glad that my children have followed in my and my husband's footsteps.

In this post, I would like to describe instances of superb medical care my family has received. All Americans, not just those as fortunate as I am to have good insurance coverage, should have access to this kind of care.

In 1997, I had a routine yearly pelvic examination and had been asymptomatic. However, the gynecologist felt something abnormal, did an immediate pelvic ultrasound, and called his friend, a GYN oncologist in the same office suite, to come in immediately.

Within 48 hours, I was in the operating room, and the oncologist removed a stage 1A ovarian cancer. He said this was one of the very earliest stage cancers he had seen. I received no follow-up chemotherapy or other treatment and have been cancer free for 18 years. The excellent gynecologist and oncologist saved my life.

In 2005, my husband, an excellent physician himself. was not feeling well. I brought him to a hospital and he was examined by a doctor who concluded that he was dehydrated. Since he was coughing, I requested a chest x-ray by a radiologist who was a colleague of mine. The radiologist informed me that the x-ray was normal but after taking one look at my husband, he asked an internist friend to see my husband immediately.

The internist saw my husband, despite having a busy waiting room, and told me that while he was not sure of the diagnosis, he was sure that my husband was very ill. On the way up to a hospital bed, a series of x-rays and laboratory tests were conducted, and my husband was immediately started on antibiotics. Within a few hours, a diagnosis was made of a serious infection that extended throughout his body and blood stream.

This superb internist stayed with my husband all night, as multiple organ system failure rapidly developed. However, within 24 hours, we knew he was getting better. The internist saved his life by realizing how sick he was, seeing and treating him immediately, and then managing his care all night long.

This is the type of care that all of us should receive. For this to occur, each of us needs a primary care physician who knows us, follows us, and can be contacted if we are ill. However, we are increasingly covered by "medical teams" rather than one physician who knows us intimately. And for most patients, access to specialty care requires pre-approval that takes time. I know of many patients who have to wait months to see a specialist.

The cost of health care in the United States is very high. Unless everyone receives the type and quality of care that my husband and I received, it is hard to justify such a huge cost.

"Obamacare" helps patients obtain insurance, but it does not fix problems with the care, itself. It is vitally important that we figure out how to improve the quality of care in America so that the system truly works for everyone.

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