Food for Thought

[Agape=Love]

I had an interesting conversation/interaction with a patient recently.

She is very happy with her therapy and had great results (So good she stated it had changed her life), however she wanted to upgrade her machine and asked about auto pap and data capability, we talked about it and I suggested the Respironics PR System One. She asked the price, when I told her $950.00 she nearly fell out of her chair. She could not believe we could charge such an amount and then turned red and vented/scolded me on how much medicare spent on her sleep studies mask etc. etc.. I then reminded her of our earlier conversation about how her therapy has changed her life. I asked her how a price tag could be put on that type of change.

Long story short she sent me away very upset (I guess she didn't like my rationale)...

I submit , thoughts create, negative attitude = negative thought

negative thought = negative reality being created.

Some folks hear the same song all day= and fail to change it.

No effort is made to teach our children to watch and guide those thoughts, nor do we as adults perfect our ability to manage our emotions. We are still children in many ways. Even those who pull the strings of power.

Being human is only one part of being alive. I see myself as a unit of awareness and the human i can become is a managed asset led and powered by the greatest asset... LOVE.

Lets change OURSELVES , recognize when we have enough, share when we have too much.

The real world is not built on money but on TRUST. Without love of self there's no honor therefore no trust.

Agape!

[ozij]

I believe you may have missed the point in that conversation:

• She is very happy with her therapy and had great results
• (So good she stated it had changed her life),
• however she wanted to upgrade her machine and asked about auto pap and data capability, we talked about it and I suggested the Respironics PR System One.
• She asked the price, of an upgrade when I told her $950.00 she nearly fell out of her chair.

She could not believe we could charge such an amount and then turned red and vented/scolded me on how much medicare spent on her sleep studies mask etc. etc.. I then reminded her of our earlier conversation about how her therapy has changed her life. I asked her how a price tag could be put on that type of change.

She was talking upgrade for information. You were connecting the price of the upgrade to the life change that had already happened without it.

That kind of misunderstanding can be very upsetting --

O.

[JohnBFisher]

... That kind of misunderstanding can be very upsetting ...

ozij, it is possible you are right. Sometimes I have unintentionally conveyed the wrong message which led to such confusion.

It is also quite likely that agape=love ran into one of those folks who want things for free. We live in a society that believes it is "entitled". People without handicap use a handicap placard to get a good parking place. People want Walmart prices but Ferrari quality and features. People want to pick up a really cheap computer, not want to pay for any software (after all they can install a copy they got from their friend) and then complain BITTERLY when they encounter problems.

It's a hard lesson to learn that "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (TANSTAAFL)"! And agape=love is right. We need to make certain that we teach our children that they control their own approach to live. My kids know how to finish the phrase "All you can ever control is how you act and react!" I've tried to teach them that through how we act and react we can often control the outcome of the situation. Perhaps not at first. And sometimes you just can not win. But "you the person" always win when you take a positive approach to live.

Though it's possible this was a question about an upgrade, I suspect it was someone that did not understand the situation and was not willing to ask questions to better understand the answer.

[mars]

Good on you, Ozij.

From reading the above posts I see that you have looked at the facts as presented by Agape-Love, and come up with the obvious interpretation of those facts.

All else is supposition, not based on what was presented, and reaction that hardly fits in with agape. Or love.

How putting someone down, and equating those actions with love is a little beyond me. But one learns of all kinds of bizarre reactions on this forum. I have even learned from mine.

cheers

Mars

[Wulfman]

The real world is not built on money but on TRUST.
Agape!

I'm not sure that I totally agree with that statement. I think "in the real world"......"EVERYTHING has its price"......or "EVERYONE has their price". A wise man told me that thirty-some years ago......and I've been thinking about it ever since. It seems to me that everything can be broken down to a "monetary value". (just ask the insurance companies )


Den

[Muse-Inc]

...She asked the price, when I told her $950.00 she nearly fell out of her chair. She could not believe we could charge such an amount and then turned red and vented/scolded me...

Perhaps something like this might have worked: I'm sorry the equipment is so expensive; let's see if there's a less expensive APAP that might work as an upgrade. However, remember, your therapy is working, quite well according to you, so there's no real need to upgrade right now.

It is frustrating to know you need to use equipment every time you sleep and that it's expensive, esp when means are limited...that part you have no control over, it's a reality she must accept to get on with her life and not get stuck, complaining will not change the cost of equipment, searching carefully for options, sales, charitable help are proactive ways of addressing the high cost of the equipment. Without insurance, I now face the same situation.

Thoughts create a conceptual framework thru which all is filtered/understood, too few understand that what they think (build) structures how we perceive life. Amazing the changes when one succeeds in changing that mindset! While the situation may not change, our perception changes and that often opens doors that we could not see before.

[timbalionguy]

All the good feelings in the world cannot replace money. The machine still has to be paid for. Maybe she knew how much a machine like that should cost, and was upset at what you were quoting. The price you quoted was (with the assumption it included an HH) was a little higher than MSRP.

I agree that health is very valuable, but it should not bankrupt you. Many medical providers do not care if health care bankrupts you. They know you can't do without it, and use that as an excuse to price-gouge. That is the REAL problem with our health care system. And the AMA is like a grizzly bear, protecting its 'kill' of health care victims they fleece (or maybe skin alive), from anyone's attempt to rein them in.

There is nothing at all wrong with a fair profit. Not even with a hefty profit, if you are not hurting others in the process of earning it.

There is a price that is too high for health care. but it shouldn't necessarily be free, either. (My Dad, a pharmacist, who sold all sorts of things in his store, reported that wealthy people drove him the hardest for the best price. People of little means rarely questioned the advertised price.)