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Knowledge is power
Jun. 26th, 2012 11:55 pmMy filling is falling out. I mean it's still in place and you wouldn't notice anything by just looking at it but I feel a crack with my tongue and it wobbles. This means something I've been avoiding so far - going to the dentist in US. My first concern was, of course, the price. I was always told it's expensive but nobody said exactly how much is expensive so I tried to find out. However all the beautiful pages of the dentists around here (or anywhere in US for that matter) have no information about the price.
In Poland when you go to a dentist office or a website you will get a comprehensive list of pricing for everything they do. For that matter this is also true for any kind of privet doctors. If you go somewhere you have the right to know how much you will have to pay afterwards (at least approximate - sometimes they have ranges for some of the procedures). Not here. Here you can't find payment information before you pick a dentist or go to a doctor. In fact, my previous experience visiting a laryngologist, taught me you don't even learn how much you pay after the visit. You get an information about what you maybe will need to pay some time in the future when they finish haggling with your insurance provider. Then a month later you get an information that your payment is overdue and you have to contact them and pay immediately.
So not only you make decision blindly (if you can make one and not just go to whoever they pick for you) you won't know what you owe them for months and then it's your fault it took so long. I feel like my rights are being violated - only, apparently, I don't have those rights as a patient here. I didn't realise how much simple, straightforward and transparent our healthcare system is. It make take forever to get to a specialist (but it can take a log time here too) but at least you don't feel like someone wants to con you. Thank socialized health system for right to information.
In Poland when you go to a dentist office or a website you will get a comprehensive list of pricing for everything they do. For that matter this is also true for any kind of privet doctors. If you go somewhere you have the right to know how much you will have to pay afterwards (at least approximate - sometimes they have ranges for some of the procedures). Not here. Here you can't find payment information before you pick a dentist or go to a doctor. In fact, my previous experience visiting a laryngologist, taught me you don't even learn how much you pay after the visit. You get an information about what you maybe will need to pay some time in the future when they finish haggling with your insurance provider. Then a month later you get an information that your payment is overdue and you have to contact them and pay immediately.
So not only you make decision blindly (if you can make one and not just go to whoever they pick for you) you won't know what you owe them for months and then it's your fault it took so long. I feel like my rights are being violated - only, apparently, I don't have those rights as a patient here. I didn't realise how much simple, straightforward and transparent our healthcare system is. It make take forever to get to a specialist (but it can take a log time here too) but at least you don't feel like someone wants to con you. Thank socialized health system for right to information.
