Doctor, Doctor

The bear had his 9 month well baby check up today. (Please excuse me while I go have my "ohmygosh my baby is growing up so fast" moment. Thank you.) He's a healthy boy developing perfectly.

One of the many pleasures of having a Navy husband is the interesting health care system. Interesting really is the right word. Sometimes it's amazingly awesome and has full coverage and the doctors spend gobs of time with you since they aren't paid per patient they see. And, sometimes it's just awful. We had the best doctor when we right after we moved here. He spent 30 minutes examining him. Have you ever spent 30 minutes with an actual doctor? Who spoke to you? Like you weren't an idiot? It was an out of body experience.

Alas, Mr Amazing Doctor is no more. He was transferred elsewhere. Where to, I have no idea. Which is probably a good thing, or I would try to convince hubby to get us transferred there, too. The one we saw today wasn't bad. Had we been assigned him at a different time, I would have been perfectly pleased.

People in the real world (ie not military families) actually get to pick their doctors which is an amazingly wonderful delight I can not wait to have. I remember the baby books saying you need to interview pediatricians and find one that is supportive of your choices (breastfeeding, formula, co-sleeping, calling a million times at midnight . . .) and I was jealous. We don't get to pick. We get assigned. Between our moves and the doctors' transfers, I wonder how many the bear will go through. At 9 months, he has already had 4 different doctors assigned as his "primary care physician." We go through his history every time. It's nice they ask, but don't they read the chart? On the bright side, if they're awful we aren't stuck with them for long.

The national health insurance idea is nice. But let me tell you folks - industrialized health care is not what you're thinking it is. Yes, it is better than nothing. But how much better can be questionable.

Some people dream of world peace. I dream of picking our own doctors and having them actually know who we are.