1. The truth is that very often even the doctor doesn't know what to do with the patient, especially pediatric patient, when there is an ear infection or respiratory tract infection. Antibiotics don't work, and the patient gets better in about the same time period regardless of what you give him or her. It is scary and frustrating to admit this, and physicians obviously don't want to tell the concerned parents or patients that they don't have a solution, but it's reality.
2. There was absolutely no reason for CAVA to get i.v. of anything. Venipuncture is invasive and painful and increases the risk of serious blood infection, especially in a hospital full of sick people. She was not dehydrated and was in no immediate need for either drugs or fluid. If she were dehydrated because of fever or vomiting, she could drink fluid on her own.
3. It is natural for people to want to "do something" in the face of illness. And injections seem more reassuring than taking pills because it is more painful and "drastic" to get injections. But all this is pure psychological placebo effects. Injections, especially direct injection into blood vessels, carry way too much risk and should not be used unnecessarily.
嗓子和耳后干沙沙火辣辣地痛，全身酸疼酸疼的。
CAVA obviously had influenza. She really didn't need any antibiotics, and nothing but her own immune system could have cured it. She could have taken something for symptom relief, but the rest did nothing material.
Maomitou, did your baby have RSV? I don't know how much the "magic drug" they finally gave actually helped. It could very well be that it didn't do much. Nevertheless, I understand the frustration of a parent in watching a sick baby.
Is health care a right or a privilege? Is it a service or a necessity? The system of health care insurance has desensitized people's concept of the cost of providing health care services. How much does it really cost for a physician to treat a patient? How much does it cost to manufacture and sell a prescription drug? How much does it cost to build and run a hospital and keep the lights on? How much does it cost to save up the $$$ when lawyers sue a physician or a hospital?
Instead of paying the actual amount of money for a service and all the costs associated, we and our employers now pay premiums to insurance companies, who in turn pays hospitals and physicians when care is given. Healthy people pay more than they use, while old and sick people use more than they pay. We don't see this clearly because the mechinery is run behind the scene.
Why are physicians overbooked? Well, if they don't see, say, 60 patients a day, their business cannot break even, because they have to pay the nursing and administrative staff and the clinic space and electricity and the equipment etc. However, there is no guarantee that each of these 60 patients has the same severity of illness. Some require more attention and longer time, but there is no better system to adequately compensate the various people involved in the entire health care process.
True, the health care system, be it market and consumer-driven (e.g., U.S., China) or government-run (e.g., Canada, Europe), is not the most efficient and fair system we can have, but inefficiency and unfairness are ingrained in human existence everywhere.
