So after a week of battling a cold, and one week of recovery, I now find myself sitting in the Alameda County Medical Center for more hours than is comfortable. Being self employed, you forego some basic comforts that an “employee” enjoys, such as health insurance (at least until you can afford it). For those without insurance, there are options, but convenience is not one of them.
This morning I woke to a painfully sore throat, but without any cough, stuffy nose, etc. Now this is a familiar feeling, and after quickly checking my tonsils with a flashlight, I confirmed the telltale signs of Strep Throat. (UGH!) Unfortunately strep is not something you want to sit on, it can go away after a few days, but you remain highly contagious for 2-3 weeks if not treated, and in worse case scenarios, it can lead to “complications”. Translation, I needed to see a doc.
Now I’ve been in this boat before, normally it can be a quick process. All that needs to happen is you see a basic doctor, he looks at your throat, takes a swab, and runs a quick test (15 min), if positive, then he prescribes antibiotics, if negative, then runs a lab culture for 1-2 days to confirm it is not strep. The antibiotics work their magic pretty quickly, after 48 hours, most symptoms vanish, but you need to continue the medication regime to the end to be sure it is flushed out of your body (none of this “What doesn’t kill me, only makes me stronger” for the bacteria). Overall a pretty quick/simple in and out procedure.
Well after talking with some friends, (2) options came about:
- Call a local family practice, setup an appointment and see a doc
- Call the county hospital and go in to be processed.
I did find a family practice doctor that was taking new patients, and I got an appointment within 2 hours of calling, but was told the doctor fee was $150, and then there might be lab tests, prescriptions, etc (one friend mentioned that I should expect to spend $300-$400) I’m never one to be comfortable taking the first option without some checking into the others, so I also called the advice nurse at the Alameda County Medical Center. She agreed with my possible diagnosis and suggested I hustle in there because the wait didn’t seem too long. She said not to worry about costs, since it was a county hospital, they had financial aid.
I showered and then drove in, arriving around 10 am. What followed was a painful example of inefficient bureaucracy.
Info desk -> General Care -> ER Registrations -> Waiting -> ER Registrations -> Waiting -> Interview? -> Waiting -> Urgent Care -> Doctors Room -> Doctor (5 min) -> Waiting -> Financial Interview -> Perscriptions -> “What do you mean 2 hour wait, I’ll get it filled myself at Walgreens” -> ER Registrations -> Urgent Care -> Waiting -> I’M FREE!! (6 hours later, but then it turns out that there was a 1 hour wait at Walgreens *sigh*)
The meds cost me only ($20) and the parking was ($10). I have to wait for the doctors fee to arrive at my home before I can tell if it was “worth” it. Next time, I’m inclined to head to the “Family Doctor” option, it might be more expensive (the bill will tell) but time trade off might be much more worth it.
Hope you all stay healthy this season.
