This past week I had my first experience denying someone health care...at a free clinic no less. The clinic cannot provide services to anyone with any health insurance, it is part of the required conditions of our operation. Unfortunately, some people who recently acquired state funded health care still can not get into see a physician for over 3 months. This is fine and dandy if all you need is an annual exam, but it doesn't work out so well if you have run out of your mental health meds and are suicidal...
I had to stand in that exam room and watch the patient become overwhelmed by feelings of hopelessness and betrayal as we told them we weren't able to treat them. I watched as they literally ran away from the office as their emotions become too overpowering. I had to watch the patient's 12-13 year old child (who was the one who found out about us and brought their parent down and filled out the intake form in the waiting room...for those of you who aren't getting what I am hinting at- that kid was the caretaker in that relationship) look at us hopelessly and apologetically. I don't know what breaks my heart more, watching a patient get turned away or watching their child look at us apologetically as if they had done something wrong by bringing their parent here.
How is it that we have created a system that even in the free/philanthropic endeavors still manages to isolate and deny people basic care? When I am done, my clinic will stand against everything our current system stands for.
In other disturbing news, it looks like our our right to privacy continues to leak out of that lovely little window our politicians continue to pretend was opened for our own good (read: national security)... and while it seems to outrage people, they still only comment about it. Amazing. When Verizon Wireless looks to charge $2 for customers paying their bills, there is an outrage and people do something, but when the government looks to take away our privacy all we do is write about it (myself included)...there is something terribly wrong with how we are operating on an individual and social level...
