A thought on prescriptions

May 12, 2008 | By valmg |

My knee’s been bothering me for several weeks now. At times the pain is blinding and makes me want to curl up in a ball on the floor and cry. It’s been getting worse and worse so I went to the doctor tonight. I explained everything from when it started a month ago until now and answered all of his questions. He didn’t even bat an eye when I told him sometimes my knee gets so swollen that it looks like my knee would benefit from some weight loss pills. When we were all done he told me he wanted me to get an xray of my knee and he handed me an xray prescription. The prescription listed the diagnosis as knee pain. Pain is not a diagnosis, it’s a symptom. If that’s all that it takes to order a test, why can’t I order my own xray? And what about the lack of privacy? I mean, sure the doctor knows why I’m there, but must everyone in the world know why? What if it was for something embarrassing?