Inefficiencies in American health care are a real pain. I know.

Healthcare inefficiencies continue to plague leading industries. close to 20% of the country’s economy. Every time I ask for care it seems to drive that reality home. Even something as simple as going to a podiatrist.

At the end of June, I started having pain in my left heel. This is nothing new to me. I regularly play soccer, hike mountain trails, and take my dog ​​for long walks every day. And I’m getting older (or am I just getting older?). Each of these causes potential problems with my feet.

Moreover, it’s not the first time. Rather, it is a recurring problem that comes and goes. I know I suffer from tendinitis near my Achilles tendon. However, this round seemed a little tougher and lasted longer. I was unable to walk without pain and had to make significant changes to my gait and stride length to minimize the problem.

It sounds like it’s time to talk to your doctor about possible long-term solutions.

I called the clinic where the patient was seen. Large office with multiple offices in the Denver metropolitan area. I have received no special or terrible care through them. I choose them simply for convenience and proximity.

When I called to make an appointment, the place where I usually get treatment didn’t have slots for a few weeks. If you want regular check-ups, that’s fine, but my situation was a little more urgent as I felt like nails were digging into my feet. I asked if other local stores had it available sooner, like that day. This is a tactic I’ve learned in the past when asking in similar situations. Using the system is a necessary talent in American medicine.

Sure enough, another office a few miles away had time. I picked the first one and hobbled away.

As is often the case in my doctor’s practice, I was unable to see a doctor. Instead, I met a doctor’s assistant. I value PA as a healthcare provider, so I don’t mind that much. It seems ironic that I can’t remember the last time I actually saw a doctor in an exam room.

Nonetheless, my PA confirmed it was likely another attack of tendonitis and wrote me a referral for x-rays and a specialist consultation. Of course, the office didn’t have an x-ray for her. So I drove a few more miles to another office and he paid $60 out of his own pocket to buy a black and white set (not covered by insurance). A picture of a broken leg.

But being a podiatrist was a different story. The closest booking was 7 weeks away. One of the “benefits” of the US private health care system, as opposed to government-led versions such as those in Canada and the UK, is the relative speed with which treatment can be delivered. So much for that edge.

In the meantime, the pain in my heel subsided and disappeared in about two weeks. Longer than usual, but consistent with my personal history. A week later, a constant cramp-like pain hit my right leg. It wasn’t plantar fasciitis, which I was familiar with, but something else.

I knew I had a podiatry appointment, but I also knew that the podiatrist would only see my left foot without a referral for my right foot, so I started the process over. Called the provider, made an appointment at a third location, and he paid $60 for an x-ray at another company.

And after a week the pain was gone again.

However, my foot was in very bad shape and a week before my appointment, a third ailment came. Again a typical symptom, pain in the pad just below where the big toe of the left foot meets the foot. Not gout (somewhere in the six weeks someone stuck me with a needle and drew blood to disprove that theory), but potentially more tendonitis.

So at least I was still in pain by the time I finally got to see a podiatrist. It must be a victory in some world.

But it got even crazier from there. The assistant who helped me didn’t understand my medical history and kept asking if it was my right big toe that was hurting. Additionally, she was unable to find her x-rays in my electronic file.

Eventually, by the time the doctor arrived, they took an x-ray of my right foot and said my toe was fine. I had to point out that I was dissatisfied with my left toe, not my right toe. She said she didn’t have an x-ray of my left leg. I told her they did and took out her confirmation text. She ordered another x-ray of her (her office had her x-ray). Just as I was sitting down to have it redone, she burst in and told the technician that she had found an extra set from her second company that had never been uploaded to the electronic medical record. I told you.

Finally she diagnosed sesamoiditis — Damage and inflammation of two small bones in the tendon that connects to the big toe. She made a makeshift insole to relieve the pressure and told me to schedule a follow-up appointment.

The healthcare system may be inefficient, but it can at least be consistent. What is the shortest follow-up time? 7 weeks. I can’t wait.