"Consultations"

I want to say a word about "consultations." This is a code word for "charge a bunch of money for an ordinary office visit!" Dr. X, my wannabe surgeon charged me 250 dollars for the privilege of allowing him to con me into an ill advised surgery which subsequently ruined my life. I got nothing but scare tactics, the "consultation" consisted ENTIRELY of him telling me how horrible my life would be if I didn't get the surgery. He didn't listen to a thing I told him about anesthesia, prior experiences etc. For his part he failed (purposely) to tell me about risks, his lack of expertise, the fact that he only works on unconscious patients, failed to tell me of common (his word) side effects like my whole hand being numb etc. His office lied to me about the cost of this surgery as well. Maybe the whole surgery should have been free, seeing as how I was a practice dummy?

So what did I get for $250.00? I got maybe 10 minutes of Dr. X's time. I got lied to about the NEED for surgery, I was NOT told of any side effects, the site of the surgery or any substantive risks, other than the usual infection and bleeding. Since I had already refused any general anesthetic, this was never discussed. I was not willing to risk my life (and mental well being) with general anesthetic for something as ridiculous as a broken arm. The word "sedation" was never, ever mentioned at any time by anybody, here at the expensive and phony consultation or any time thereafter. Sedation is a huge secret, to be kept from the patient at all costs. Once it is done, you have no recourse... and they can proceed with other dangerous but moneymaking procedures without your consent. I guess that this is all a plan to maximize profit.

Don't ever let a Doctor get away with charging you hundreds of dollars for a "consultation." This is a rip-off. All this is for is so that the Doctor can terrorize you into accepting very expensive and risky procedures. This being so, then this "consultation" is only for the Doctor's benefit, not yours and you as the hapless patient should NOT be charged this exorbitant fee, just so the Doctor can con you! It's a freakin office visit with some coercion thrown in for good measure. Why should the patient pay for something that is only in the DOCTOR'S BEST INTEREST, not theirs?

Dr. X also insisted on taking another x ray to go along with the "consultation." This was $95. The x ray machine was obviously faulty as it was vague, grainy and there were splatter marks all over the edges of the x rays. They didn't even bother to give me a lead apron when they used this dangerous machine! The reason for the x ray? So that Dr. X could use it to show me a miniscule additional "collapse" of the fracture in order to coerce me into allowing him to get some experience doing this particular surgery. The x rays are on this site and most people couldn't find this "unacceptable collapse" with a magnifying glass. Another spurious charge designed to maximise profit. This x ray was for HIS benefit, not mine. I was understandably skeptical about his marvy surgery... I wanted a non surgical intervention. So Dr. X freely spent MY money in his quest to con me into doing what HE wanted to do, not what was best for ME!

And they wonder why health care has become so expensive? These people are searching for tricks to charge more money for ordinary things. "Consultation fee," my foot!