You know that you have been threatening to make a change in the past, but you have finally decided that you have to switch ear nose and throat doctors for the kiddos. You are open and are looking for suggestions. You want someone who is not too busy to figure out what is going on with kiddos and is amazing at the same time!
You have been so frustrated!!! Your oldest daughter, who just turned 16, woke up with a sore throat and white patches on her tonsils. You are certain this is a sure sign of strep. Your self diagnosis should carry even more weight because your two younger children had strep themselves last week that was diagnosed and treated at the ear nose and throat clinic last week. It is so frustrating that your younger daughter and only son were both tested and cultured for strep. The rapid test was negative and it took several days to hear heard back from cultures.
You called the on call doctor and they refused to write a prescription without the results of the second test. You sat at home waiting over the weekend to get the results and it was not until Monday at noon that you finally heard back and the office called in the prescription. You feel like you kids missed out on a fun plan for the first weekend of Spring Break for something that could have been cured in a day. You even had a nurse friend look at all three of your children and that friend said she was sure it was strep, too. If they have all the symptoms why the heck not just treat them as soon as possible?
Are You Frustrated by the Care You Are Getting at Your Current Doctor’s Office?
In this time of changing and threatened health care plans, many offices are simply trying to juggle too many patients at once. With a whole new group of people who are covered by the Affordable Care Act, many long time patients feel that they are no longer getting the care that they need at offices that are crowded with new clients. Ear nose and throat specialists and ear nose and throat surgeons can be especially difficult to get into during the winter, a time that is known as cold and flu season. For many long time patients, they are faced with the task of finding a new doctor or a new clinic that has the time to give their patients the attention that they need.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the health industry that tries to deal with patients who have both physical needs as well as infections that involve the ears nose and throat:
- It is estimated that nearly 20,000 liters of air pass through the average adult?s nose every single day.
- $2 billion is the yearly cost of treating middle ear infections in the U.S.
- 30 million U.S. doctor visits a year are for ear infections. In fact, with the exception of wellness baby visits, ear infections are the most common reason for trips to the pediatrician.
- 29.4 million is the number of adults diagnosed sinusitis every year.
- 2% to 4% of all Americans have an undiagnosed case of sleep apnea. This translates into approximately 1 in 50 individuals being undiagnosed with the disruptive, and sometimes life threatening, condition.
- People who live with an untreated case of sleep apnea face a risk of stroke that is four times as likely as those who are not afflicted. In addition, untreated sleep apnea sufferers are also three times as likely to have heart disease.
Whether you are seeking medical assistance for a young child who suffers from frequent cases of ear infections or strep throat or you are an adult that wakes up several times a night because your spouse tells you that you are making too much noise snoring, you might be someone who can get the relieve you need from an ear nose and throat doctor. Finding an office that is staffed by skilled medical professionals who have the time to give you the time that you need, however, can sometimes be a challenge. A timely diagnosis and treatment are essential.
