[Buckeye McFrog]

and found out that I was one of the unlucky 2% of Canadians who suffer from gout. It’s embarrassing to admit this, as it’s a disease that’s typically associated with gluttonous, inbred monarchs

I know a number of people who suffer with gout. This guy is a pompous ass.

[SoCal Pubbie]

I have gout.

[Milton Miteybad]

When I last visited my internist, reviewing my most recent blood test numbers, I mentioned that I had having some pain in the big toe. The doctor guessed it was gout, and had the phlebotomist come in and draw a little more blood for a blood urea test. Told me to call him later that afternoon for the results. If I needed a prescription to treat the condition, he'd have one ready.

The diagnosis was confirmed by the test, so the doc calls in a prescription, which I picked up within an hour.

Time required for diagnosis? 5 minutes.

Time required to confirm diagnosis and sketch out a plan of treatment? 4 hours.

Time required to acquire medicine and commence treatment? 1 hour.







Total time from initial consultation to beginning treatment? < 6 hours.







Top that, Canada. ;-)

[fuzzylogic]

I’ve known a number of Canadians that have this attitude - Canada is great and America sucks.

Must be nice to live under the umbrella of American security. How much do they spend on their military again?

Most countries also demand lower costs for pharmaceuticals otherwise they’ll just let somebody make a generic version. So we, effectively, subsidize the global development of new drugs.

These universal programs usually work for a while but become increasingly problematic. The British NHS is stretched beyond thin and now has large shortages of doctors, importing lower quality doctors from around the world.

That said, I’m unsure what the answer is. Sometimes I wonder if health care costs should be proportional to your income/assets, but I hate the idea that the government always thinks it can take more from you just because you have it (violation of private property rights).