Mark, a lot of individuals look at physicians and surgeons through rose colored glasses. Yes, they are very highly educated, and for the most part, quite intelligent, at least scholastically. Then there is the flip side of this coin. The vast majority of the physicians I worked with had zero common sense, which is a big part of the problem, medically. They narrowly viewed each malady as if there were only one way to treat it, the way they learned in medical school, and no other method was viable, at least to them.

The next part of the equation is only a very small percentage of physicians and surgeons are top notch, and for the most part, the general public has absolutely no way of determining who is the best and who is the worst. I've worked with the best, and the worst. And, because of my extensive medical background and training, I'm able to determine which I want working on ME, and the ones that I don't want in the same zip code with me if I have a medical issue. I figure, from my experience, that about 1 percent of the physicians and surgeons are at the very top of the list, while the vast majority are somewhere in the middle to bottom of the competence level.

And, while I have the advantage of knowing what questions to ask, and what certain medications can do, and their subsequent side effects, I still manage to get myself into trouble by going to a doctor based upon recommendations from a friend or relative that claims they're great. In reality, very few individuals on this forum have any idea whatsoever as to whether their doctor is treating them properly for the malady(s) they have.

Fortunately, over the past decade, some internet sources have developed that will allow you to do a background search of individual physicians, and view comments from other patients. This can sometimes be quite beneficial. Additionally, sites such as WebMD provide solid information on drugs, their side effects, dossages, etc..., and various disease information, all of which is quite informative.

The difficult part is deciding which avenue of approach to take in an attempt to bring about your recovery. The greed and corruption aspect of medicine seems to be on the rise lately, which in most instances, can be harmful to the patient(s) of these practices.

I recently went to a neurosurgeon about my horrendous back pain. A red light went off in my head when I walked into the office and noticed that this neurosurgeon was with an orthopedic surgical group - just didn't make sense. Before seeing the physician, am attractive young lady had me put a pair one size fits all paper shorts, then escorted me to a room where a series of X-rays were taken of my back. I told her that I had X-rays from two weeks ago with me, and she said "We always want our own." A second red light went off in my head.

After sitting for 40 minutes in an exam room that was as cold as a meat locker, I said to myself, if no one shows up in the next 5 minutes, I'm outa' here! Four minutes later the door opened, and that same young gal said the doctor will be here in just a few minutes. I told her that he had one minute or I would be leaving. He came in a few seconds after she closed the door, looking a bit indignant, then apologizing for being late. He had a laptop in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other.

He sat down with the laptop, asked me a few questions, looked at the X-rays they had just taken (they were on his laptop), then pressed on my back in a few locations and asked if it hurt. Then he had me take a few steps across the room, and said, I want to get some more X-rays, only this time of your hips. It was back to the X-ray room, then another 30 minutes of waiting in the meat locker.

This time, when he walked through the door with his laptop, he sat down and said, well, you have a lot of arthritis in your hips and I think we should replace your hips and your back problem will go away. BINGO! Game's over, Doc! I got up, walked to where my clothes were hanging, and said, "thanks, but no thanks - I'm outta here!" His ortho group would have made a cool $100,000 on my hips being replaced, I would have been no better off, physically, and likely ended up in a nursing home as an invalid.

I later went to an orthopedic surgeon that specialized in back surgery, he had an EMG study and MRI performed on me, then spent about 10 minutes with me in an exam room and said, "Gary, your back is really messed up, but there is so much scar tissue from previous surgeries that it would be very dangerous to try to surgically correct the problem, and a good outcome would be unlikely. This guy was honest, up front, and not a money grubber.

Almost forgot: For the next three months after seeing the neurosurgeon, the guy that ordered all those unnecessary, additional, X-rays, I received bill, after bill, after bill, for X-rays, and things I never heard of, all of which were above and beyond the coverage levels of Medicare and my Blue Cross - Blue Shield supplemental coverage. My out of pocket expenses to see a quack doctor were just over $200.

Bottom line, the vast majority of patients have absolutely no idea how good or bad their physicians and surgeons are. There is no litmus test for this. And, while self diagnosis is not a good thing, at least most of the time, being aware of ALL treatment options is something that every person owes to themselves and loved ones.

Sorry about the rant, and Good luck,

Gary