CHINESE MEDICAL TREATMENT
Available at http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/viewthread.php?gid=3&tid=695089&extra=page%3D1
The other day when I had an ankle sprain, I realized the true essence of “kan bing nan” (meaning the difficulty of treating illness in China). A friend of mine came to pick me up from a commercial mall in the south of Beijing. Somehow with great pain and with his help, I entered the car. While he was driving in the huge traffic jams, I asked him “which hospital are we going to?” He looked at me with a surprise and asked, “don’t you want me to drop you at your residence?” “I am in severe pain and need to see a doctor”, I replied. He looked astonished and said, “for such small problems we don’t go to hospital. Rather even if there is some severity of the problem, we avoid going to hospital”. I wondered why? He kept driving for almost one hour or so. I thought I needed an emergency treatment and already I had waited for him for more than an hour. Now where is he moving? After I insisted he took me to a hospital in east side of Beijing, which was near my place of stay. He parked the car outside the emergency ward. I looked ahead and could see no help but stairs to climb. Somehow I managed to get down of the car and he was helping me climb the stairs. The problem was I could hardly climb even with his help. There was no wheel chair and no ward boy or nurse to assist. The stairs were almost ten in number, if I am right. Suddenly a doctor came out for a leisure stroll. He looked at my inability to climb and just helped me raise the cotton padded curtain to enter the main hall. However, I was looking forward for help to climb up the stairs. With great difficulty I climbed the stairs and went into the hall. On my right side, there were few chairs where every next person was hooked to a glucose/medicine bottle. I looked ahead there was a nurse who asked in a cold tone, “what happened?” My friend explained that I fell from stairs and my leg is twisted. “Oh”, she replied, “get a number” (gua hao). My friend told me to wait till he gets the number. He took almost twenty minutes to return. No one to attend you till that time. By that time I had already endured a lot of pain. He returns and tells me almost 6-7 yuan is spent. I was hardly worried about money. In particular such a small amount, who cares. I was bothered about my pain. He then takes me outside a room where the doctor is seeing the patients. I look inside and a girl was explaining her problems. Did not seem to be in emergency, or probably she was. She took almost 20 minutes to explain and discuss with the doctor. The doctor then takes him for some check up. The doctor comes out and washes his hands and then rubs his hands to his white coat to dry. “Oh my god, hygiene of this sort”, I got scared, so decided no injections. Suddenly another man enters the hall and explains to the nurse that he has a sudden swelling on his left cheek. The nurse says, “we don’t attend to such problems”. When he insists, the nurse takes him inside the room to talk to the doctor. The doctor looks and says, “it is nothing serious, tomorrow go to a specialist”. The man moves out and the doctor again washes his hands and wives on his coat. By then I realize that this is his habit. He then calls on my name and I walk in with the help of my friend. The doctor asks, “what happened?” After I explain, he tells me to remove my shoes. He gives one look and starts to prescribe medicine. I ask him “don’t I need an X-ray”. “Does not seem to be a fracture”, he replies. He then asks me, “will I get a reimbursement?” “No”, I reply. He then tells me, “90% chances are there is no fracture and so you don’t need an X-ray. Take medicine for two –three days and if still not fine, get an X-ray done”. I wonder, will it not be late by then? Then he prescribes me some Chinese medicines. I ask him “don’t I need to put some bandage or some way to prevent it from further injury?” “No need, let it free, bandage will block your blood flow”, he answers. I was wondering about the treatment, but you need to trust your doctor. He gives me the prescription and calls another name. Me and my friend moves out and he helps me buy the medicines. He returns smiling after spending some hundred or more yuan. “The doctor was nice to you, he asked you so many questions and prescribed so less medicine. Had it been a Chinese, they would have written a lot of medicines and an X-ray”, my friend said. However, I was wondering why my friend is so happy. He said, “Chinese doctors get commission for the medicines and tests they prescribe. So the more they write the more money they make”. I was amused. Doctors get commission for medicines. “You are lucky to have spent only in hundreds, a Chinese would have spent thousands”, he kept saying. However, in my heart I was worried about the right treatment and not the money. I return home in continuous pain.
Available at http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/viewthread.php?gid=3&tid=695089&extra=page%3D1
The other day when I had an ankle sprain, I realized the true essence of “kan bing nan” (meaning the difficulty of treating illness in China). A friend of mine came to pick me up from a commercial mall in the south of Beijing. Somehow with great pain and with his help, I entered the car. While he was driving in the huge traffic jams, I asked him “which hospital are we going to?” He looked at me with a surprise and asked, “don’t you want me to drop you at your residence?” “I am in severe pain and need to see a doctor”, I replied. He looked astonished and said, “for such small problems we don’t go to hospital. Rather even if there is some severity of the problem, we avoid going to hospital”. I wondered why? He kept driving for almost one hour or so. I thought I needed an emergency treatment and already I had waited for him for more than an hour. Now where is he moving? After I insisted he took me to a hospital in east side of Beijing, which was near my place of stay. He parked the car outside the emergency ward. I looked ahead and could see no help but stairs to climb. Somehow I managed to get down of the car and he was helping me climb the stairs. The problem was I could hardly climb even with his help. There was no wheel chair and no ward boy or nurse to assist. The stairs were almost ten in number, if I am right. Suddenly a doctor came out for a leisure stroll. He looked at my inability to climb and just helped me raise the cotton padded curtain to enter the main hall. However, I was looking forward for help to climb up the stairs. With great difficulty I climbed the stairs and went into the hall. On my right side, there were few chairs where every next person was hooked to a glucose/medicine bottle. I looked ahead there was a nurse who asked in a cold tone, “what happened?” My friend explained that I fell from stairs and my leg is twisted. “Oh”, she replied, “get a number” (gua hao). My friend told me to wait till he gets the number. He took almost twenty minutes to return. No one to attend you till that time. By that time I had already endured a lot of pain. He returns and tells me almost 6-7 yuan is spent. I was hardly worried about money. In particular such a small amount, who cares. I was bothered about my pain. He then takes me outside a room where the doctor is seeing the patients. I look inside and a girl was explaining her problems. Did not seem to be in emergency, or probably she was. She took almost 20 minutes to explain and discuss with the doctor. The doctor then takes him for some check up. The doctor comes out and washes his hands and then rubs his hands to his white coat to dry. “Oh my god, hygiene of this sort”, I got scared, so decided no injections. Suddenly another man enters the hall and explains to the nurse that he has a sudden swelling on his left cheek. The nurse says, “we don’t attend to such problems”. When he insists, the nurse takes him inside the room to talk to the doctor. The doctor looks and says, “it is nothing serious, tomorrow go to a specialist”. The man moves out and the doctor again washes his hands and wives on his coat. By then I realize that this is his habit. He then calls on my name and I walk in with the help of my friend. The doctor asks, “what happened?” After I explain, he tells me to remove my shoes. He gives one look and starts to prescribe medicine. I ask him “don’t I need an X-ray”. “Does not seem to be a fracture”, he replies. He then asks me, “will I get a reimbursement?” “No”, I reply. He then tells me, “90% chances are there is no fracture and so you don’t need an X-ray. Take medicine for two –three days and if still not fine, get an X-ray done”. I wonder, will it not be late by then? Then he prescribes me some Chinese medicines. I ask him “don’t I need to put some bandage or some way to prevent it from further injury?” “No need, let it free, bandage will block your blood flow”, he answers. I was wondering about the treatment, but you need to trust your doctor. He gives me the prescription and calls another name. Me and my friend moves out and he helps me buy the medicines. He returns smiling after spending some hundred or more yuan. “The doctor was nice to you, he asked you so many questions and prescribed so less medicine. Had it been a Chinese, they would have written a lot of medicines and an X-ray”, my friend said. However, I was wondering why my friend is so happy. He said, “Chinese doctors get commission for the medicines and tests they prescribe. So the more they write the more money they make”. I was amused. Doctors get commission for medicines. “You are lucky to have spent only in hundreds, a Chinese would have spent thousands”, he kept saying. However, in my heart I was worried about the right treatment and not the money. I return home in continuous pain.
posted by Ji Xiaojie @ 8:04 PM
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