The hour is 14:21 on a thursday in Brønshøj. I sit waiting for my first in person encounter with the Danish health care system and I wonder- how will I fare in my first real hand-to-hand with communism? (Don't worry friends, I'm being facetious.)
I was actually pretty confused to begin with... The office of the doctor I was assigned to is in a normal apartment building, which threw me off. It's literally a half block away from my apartment though, super convenient. When I walked in there was no discernible reception so I struggled a bit to decipher the signs and tried to force my way through a locked door that, come to find out, said, "Reception bust please wait". The seven or so Danes in the room who had been silent as church mice all called out explanations in unison... I got the gist. One if the key differences between health care here and at home in the US for me is (apart from the paying bit) on Denmark you always go to your primary doctor first regardless of what the problem is. From there you get a referral to the specialist... if you don't do that it's quite expensive. My initial response to this was irritation- why am I wasting my time seeing someone who has just a general knowledge of feet/orthopedics?? I hadn't ever really considered how many doctors I see - or have seen - in the US... Dermatologist, gynecologist, endocrinologist, dentist, phlebotomist, orthopedist, psychiatrist, ophthalmologist, physical therapists.... probably more. Some are on the same Everett Clinic site and have all my info, some aren't. For me it's not such a problem figuring out who to see... but I have the advantage of having several doctors in my family and fluency in English, among other things.
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Saw the doctor! She was great.... Apparently my bones in my foot have slipped/realigned so that all the pressure from walking goes on my bone rather than the ball of my foot. No wonder it's mad painful! Nice to know that using it doesn't make if worse.... just hurts. So insoles and painkillers and rest.
Thanks Danish health care! Didn't actually need the specialist this time... Of course in used to the American way of figuring out/deciding for myself which doctor to go to... but I'm thinking as a foreigner this approach is probably much simpler. Either way both involve a lot of bureaucracy, which I will always find confusing and dull... but I'm very grateful to have received this help. Tusind tak, Brønshøj Lægercenter!
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