Althea Dunscombe: What happened to health care while you weren’t looking

To The Daily Sun,

So much going on, elections, COVID, medical furloughs, hospital bankruptcy, hospital merger, Gunstock, inflation, issues to take our awareness off what has been happening to medical care, not just in our community, but in our country.

We used to have one doctor you could see for sniffles or cramps or a sprain. Patients built trust and a relationship with their health care professional. Now we have a doctor for every system and sub-system. At one time emergency rooms were over-run with people who couldn’t get in to see their doctor or making appointment didn’t fit in their schedule. An outcry of abuse of this system and emergency clinics sprang up. Now you call a doctor’s office, right away they tell you to call 911 if this is an emergency, go to the ER or you can wait six months for an appointment.

I have provided health care in some form since 1965. I enjoyed the abundance of great health care for patients in the '80s, the many of the medical advances to improve all our lives, and watched as government regulations have slowly eroded our healthcare spirit and availability. I saw one of my several specialists this year and have since discovered that visit was considered my annual Medicare wellness check. Apparently, I cannot make another appointment until next year. I have a couple of long-standing issues and for four years have not been able to undergo the one exam that would let us know exactly what is going on — Medicare would get upset if this test was ordered. Yes, I finally got an answer.

In thinking about our current health care situation, I wonder: “Did I move to Canada?” No, socialized medicine has just come to me. If available, I would go to Concierge Care in a heartbeat.

Althea Dunscombe

Center Harbor