Just really understood in a concrete way why healthcare reform is/was so necessary. The system is so illogical, apart from any economics or religious preferences! Just spent almost an hour on the phone coordinating across multiple offices to have records sent so I could have simple continuity of care. I had to contact each office multiple times, after waiting a month from the original ‘just fill out this form and we can get them sent.’

I find out that in one instance the original request was never sent, in a second that no one thought to check that the records had actually arrived. That is a sign of a seriously broken system, and its no wonder that people struggle to take responsibility for their own care! When something a basic as file transfer is this hard in this day and age, it is not surprising that anything more complicated becomes seemingly insurmountable.

I’m not sure if its a sign of all systems breaking down, or if our health system is a particularly broken one, but it seems like an important discussion to have- totally aside from who will or will not make money, lose money, pay for other people etc.

I’m also slightly surprised how quickly we move to that conversation, and how hard it is to even have this conversation. Doesn’t it make logical sense that each individual should be able to access a complete personal medical record? That when meeting with a doctor, or a doctor is trying to assess and provide care, a more complete history (as documented by other practitioners) would be a positive thing?

I don’t know what the argument with that core premise is, although I would like to hear it. I understand tactical issues, privacy concerns etc, but isn’t the core of the basic idea pretty common-sense logical?

Incidentally, I had a hard time accessing the phone number of one clinic on my work laptop because I was multitasking on a day off (i.e. squeezing work into my life instead of the usual way ’round). I also suddenly understood in a visceral way the dilemma faced by employees who may in all other respects love their job, but recognize it is dangerous for them to work there as the choices made by their employers literally put them in physical danger, or remove their options to make that choice for themselves.

What are we really saying to women when we make them choose between their lives and livelihood in the ways they want to define each? What does that say about us a society?