When I was a young trainee, I was paged to the emergency room. The patient was still dressed in the suit from the funeral, and given that is was barely lunchtime, likely hadn’t even stayed for the sandwiches. They had checked into the A&E in a panic: “I just came from the funeral. My cousin died with no warning. I haven’t seen a doctor in 10 years. Just check my heart and tell me I’ll be okay.”
That day, as a young doc, I found it extreme. Years later – I know that this isn’t uncommon: when tragedy strikes our families, we are reminded that we are all mortal. We will all die. Just hopefully not tomorrow.
This reaction is not necessarily a bad thing when it pushes someone to FINALLY make that appointment to get their bloods and blood pressure checked with their GP – that is long overdue.
But – this can lead to a flurry of panic or rushing out to pay for medical tests that you might not need. It can also leave people vulnerable to be exploited or confused by conflicting advice.
My expert guide on staying alive and not going broke:
1. Get off Dr. ChatGPT and the amateur medical advice in the family WhatsApp.
2. Make an appointment with your GP. Seriously. When it comes to medical testing, patients have far better outcomes getting expert guidance to make sense of what is needed, checking whole health – and weighing up the cost-benefit of private options if needed.
Why? Sometimes the test you get on-demand is not the test you really needed (despite your Google search). And sometimes the talk you need to have about your health concerns requires more than a computer print-out advising you to contact your own doctor if you have questions or concerns.
Did you know? Many companies make money selling unnecessary or over-priced testing, taking advantage of patients not being able to get in with a GP, people who have been doing their own research, or not knowing what public services are availabe. For example, in the chemist the other day, I saw over-the-counter tests for chlamydia and syphillis – which is available completely for free – delivered to your home – from SH24.ie.
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