On 4/10/2016 10:51 PM, Janet B wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Apr 2016 19:32:25 -0400, jmcquown >
> wrote:
>
>> On 4/10/2016 1:10 PM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
>>> On Sun, 10 Apr 2016 09:45:29 -0400, Gary > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I spend 4 days in ICU and another 3 nights in the hospital. I was billed
>>>>> nothing for all that.
>>>>
>>>> My God. If that was in the USA, you would face a bill of (just
>>>> guessing) over $20K.
>>>>
>>>> That night 7.5 years ago that I had severe asthma and was stuck
>>>> sitting on the toilet all night - very labored breathing and even a 7
>>>> step walk to the phone to call for help would have killed me. After
>>>> spending about 8 hours on the damn toilet with very labored breathing
>>>> all night, I was finally healed enough to get up, dressed, and I drove
>>>> to a "minor emergency clinic." Very labored breathing even for that.
>>>>
>>>> As soon as they heard that I had no insurance, they treated me quite
>>>> shabbily (imo). They didn't want me there and acted like I was some
>>>> bum off the street after free medical care. I was told that the doctor
>>>> was running a bit late and I should go to the emergency room.
>>>
>>> A clinic would not have told you to drive to the ER, they would have
>>> called an ambulance.
>>>
>> Not if he was capable of driving.
>>
>> My neighbor went to an urgent care clinic last year. They quickly
>> diagnosed her with an embolism/blood clot in her leg which could have
>> traveled to her heart/lungs. She was perfectly rational and capable of
>> driving a few miles further to hospital. No ambulance required. Oh,
>> and she had insurance.
>>
>> Jill
> It is possible to walk around with a clot in the leg for weeks and
> weeks and not have it move. (BTDT, I didn't know why my leg had a
> sore spot) I didn't have to drive myself to the hospital after the
> tentative diagnosis because the doctor's office was within the
> hospital campus and I was sent for an ultrasound. They withheld
> surgery until the next day because I had already eaten several meals
> that day. Having a blood clot is something to be taken care of but
> not a 5 alarm fire.
> Did the urgent care use ultra sound to detect the blood clot or was
> she sent to the hospital to have an ultra sound done?
> Janet US
>
I don't know the symptoms she had. Possibly a store spot. Something
prompted her to go to the nearby Urgent Care clinic. They sent her to
the hospital. Might not have been the ER but they told her she needed
to have it taken care of.

I hadn't seen her for a few days. It's rare I don't see her. She's
always out puttering in her yard. Her absence was conspicuous. I saw
her outside the next week and commented "I haven't seen you around much.
"Oh, I was in the hospital. Had a blood clot removed from my leg."

I think they did the initial tests (don't know if it was an ultrasound)
at the Urgent Care clinic. From what she said they realized hey, you
have a potential problem here. So she drove herself to the hospital.
Might not have been the ER, I am hazy about that. But she did have to
have surgery to remove the clot before it had a chace to move. She's 70
years old so she's got Medicare and probably a Medicare supplement.

I don't want to think about what it would cost to pay for that out of
pocket.

Jill