Kathy Lambert [05/28/2005]

To the editor:I read with interest the letter from Tim Hill of Fryeburg in the Monday, May 23, paper. It is sad to see that a doctor would deny anyone medical care because of lack of insurance. I am not sure what Charlie Ricker has (I missed that letter of May 12), but any doctor who would turn away a patient should think of another career. What happened to the Hippocratic Oath? I must say, though, it happens even if you have insurance. I went in to a local doctor back in September 2004 to have OMT (osteopathic manipulation therapy), and I was denied because I was seeing a homeopathic doctor as well. His exact words were "I dont think I can treat you today because you are seeing a Dr. ****." I was totally shocked and confused. I told him I had been seeing this doctor for months. I had to "beg" for the treatment and assure the doctor that his treatment would not interfere with anything the homeopathic doctor was treating me for. The funny thing is, I had been seeing the homeopathic doctor since April 2004, and had several OMTs between April and September. Luckily, I had a witness to the event, because it never appeared in my records that he denied me the care I needed. It didnt even make mention to the fact that he was concerned about giving me the treatment while seeing a homeopathic doctor. Since there are many more people unhappy with medicine and who are going outside the realm of allopathic medicine, I think doctors should spend more time learning more than just writing prescriptions. I think most doctors in this day take the Hypocrite Oath. They see the almighty dollar signs over the patients' heads as they walk in, and that is all they see.Thankfully, there are still a few doctors who really care about treating and helping patients. I have found the best doctors are the doctors who dont get caught up in the insurance games. You have to pay cash out of pocket, but they are reasonably priced considering the care you receive.