Originally Posted by
Muriel
Yes. This country has built a ridiculous amount of "work" around billing and medical codes for money. In my doctor's office there is one nurse to take blood, one to do intake and get vitals, one nurse for prepping the exam room for PAP smear. Then in the "administration" side there are at least 3 or 4 more people who take appointments, do the billing, make appointments, etc., etc.
A trip to the ER a couple of years ago: I had nearly sliced off the tip of my index finger with a knife. I saw the intake person, who took me to a triage nurse. She assessed me and took me to an emergency room. After that I was seen by at least 4 other medical personnel. Now get this: one person examined me and then sent for another to come and do another assessment. After that I saw a physician, and then a surgeon. One of the previous nurses set up the room to do the surgery (gluing my finger tip back on). Then the surgeon came in and glued it. (less than 5 minutes). Nurse comes back, and tidies up the stuff. Then another person came and put one dressing on my finger. Then yet another person came and put tubular gauze on my finger, and then I was free to go. It was about 2 hours. I wish I would have kept track of how many people I saw from start to finish. When we checked out, because we didn't have insurance we got our bill reduced. (We have Christian medi-share) I recall this being under $1500 total. I'm sure if we had insurance it would be have been billed out much much higher.