The other day I had an interesting discussion with a friend about doctors. I realized something that may be related to seeing a Naturopath instead of an MD, but I think ultimately affects all medical practices. When you, as the patient, are paying for services out of your pocket instead of through insurance (or there are a large percentage of people who do), you tend to get better customer service. The receptionist, nurses and doctors know that you can and will go elsewhere if you are not happy, so they go out of their way to work with you.

There is also the nice little thing about smaller offices knowing their patients, and therefore being more courteous (like calling you when your appt is cancelled instead of letting you fall through the cracks - I have never experienced this, but my friend recently did). When dealing with an HMO that has many doctors in the practice and strict regulations about how many patients an hour they must see, patients are the ones who suffer. You don't get the time you need and you don't get to develop a relationship with your doctor.

Having said that, we recently found a doctor who is on my husband's HMO who takes his time with patients and warns them that you will not be seen on-time because of this. I have been very impressed with him so far, and Jeff goes to see him again on Monday.

With all the talk of government-run health care, I have been more aware of the power of choices in medical care. I don't want to see any entity, whether a big insurance company or our government, step in and tell us how we should receive health care. I like the idea of a health insurance plan that you shop around for on your own and get to deduct the premiums. This puts the power back into the hands of you, the consumer. With that kind of responsibility, you are more likely to watch how much you are charged and maybe even demand things like tort reform! It is amazing how much of a difference there is in one's behavior when you have to be responsible.