[rurp]

I agree with this so strongly. The medical gatekeeping is absolutely absurd. I can't remember the last time I learned something from a doctor that I hadn't already learned myself with a quick online search. For every visit in the past decade or longer they either told me what I already knew or we were both stumped.

If drives me crazy that I can't make my own decisions about my own health, even for trivial cases. I've spent countless hours and dollars going to pointless doctor visits just to get a routine refill. Literally the conversation at most of these visits is as simple as me telling the doc that everything is fine with $medA, lets just keep it the same; followed by the doctor saying sure and writing me a new script. Such a massive inefficient waste of time.

[Spivak]

Yep. Rank and file MDs don’t provide a whole lot of value except to people who are totally ignorant of common illnesses, health issues, or injuries.

If I had the ability to order my own tests, blood work, and adjust the dosages of my meds I could do it a hell of a lot better than the doctor I see every 6-12 months. Antibiotics are the some of the worst with this. The doc literally doesn’t even look at me, I just describe my symptoms and they go “yep sounds like an infection” — like Gods almighty you could be a web form. And it would would actually cost my insurance less which is even more infuriating.

Specialists I have found are actually useful and so I can’t really bring myself to hate that Tier 1 MDs act as a screen for people whose time is valuable.

[Edman274]

> to people who are totally ignorant of common illnesses, health issues, or injuries.

Hundreds of thousands, no, potentially millions of people have decided to take hydrochloroquine and ivermectin as a treatment for Covid. The people who believe that they're in a position to dictate their own medical treatment are the ones who most often are "totally ignorant".

Yes, it's more expensive in isolation - in the best case scenario - to have someone competent see a doctor for a refill. But it's a hell of a lot cheaper than the rare case of someone saying "I have self-diagnosed as needing hydrochloroquine for my Covid" and then dying from an overdose after they passed out and their family took them to an expensive emergency room. Your experience is not universal.