Missing the old days

To the Editor:

It's really bad now-a-days when a doctor who has never seen a patient before can make a statement that the person he is seeing is a drug addict. Or even that the patient is only there because he is seeking narcotics.

What happened to the doctors we used to have? The ones who wanted to help their patients? Cared about their physical well being? Has the entire medical profession gone to hell over money, instead of healing? Where is it put that all patients will be treated equally? What has happened to respect?

Better yet, what happened to the quality of our hospital here in Libby? They set standards and don't follow them. Is this what we can expect here in the future? Disrespect, verbal abuse, lack of feelings towards the people who go to the hospital for help? I understand that there are a lot of people out there who abuse pain medication, but why do the people who need pain medication have to be punished because the doctors don't want to take the time to really sort out who's who? Instead they are giving medications to the ones who fake needing it, and are not giving it to the ones who need it. As far as they are concerned a person can just suffer.

I have lived here since 2000, my husband has been here in Libby longer. When I came here the medical community was halfway decent. Since 2005 the quality of this medical community has gone down the drain and that is real sad. I'm finding that everywhere, not just in Montana. Is this what the world is coming to? Money over proper health care?

Sue and Curt Hamilton

Libby