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Q: Chinese Healthcare Sucks
Chinese hospital to my Chinese friend:
"You are dying of liver cancer. You will be dead soon. We want you to leave the hospital so we can give your bed to someone else. If you die in the hospital, we probably won't get paid what you owe us."
That blunt. That cold. For every bad China day I have, it is things like this that force me to realize that China treats Chinese WAY worse than it does foreigners.
I know this isn't a question, but I needed to vent.
12 years 25 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
remember this is the land that lets little girls die i the street. what did you expect. no hongbao for doctor? crappy medical service. o look a rich guy with loads of guanxi. quick get that poor guy out of here, we need the bed.
sorry about your friend. we all have somone close die of cancer, very un cool
Sorry to hear that,but it may be us in that bed soon and i dont think for 1 minute we would get any better service thats what scares me bringing up a family here
Sorry to hear abut your friend. I hope it's false diagnosis. There are people who actually recover from cancer. I hope he is one of them.
Feel free to vent on here whenever you feel like it.
American health care is not better, they trow you on the street as easy and simple as they do here.
crimochina:
i gotta give you thumbs down on this . americas healthcare system is f'd up but not like it is here not even close
HugAPanda:
America's HC system is expensive, unaffordable for way too many people. But if you can remove the money... the care and treatment available is state of the art. I can attest to it.
Your question is does chinese healthcare suck? It is odd because I have been thinking lately do foreigners even go to hospitals here? I have never been nor I know how to get to one. If I did go I'm sure they wouldn't understand me anyways. Luckily I have my VA hospital back home! I'm sure glad I joined the military and got my healthcare benefits. Much Cheaper! So your question is does Chinese Healthcare suck? You probably just answered your own question with that comment. I'm not to sure about what they said, but it is common that that sort of stuff happens everywhere. You have to keep going places to get the help that you deserve. It sucks but that's life!
paulmartin:
Are you totally deranged hes angry that a freind is being treated like a dog,its not a question really and if you dont understand?????? And stop trying to make out yourAmerican like the Dude said nothing wrong with Chinese on this site but your just not American
HugAPanda:
Mattaya, your big words aren't impressing anyone. You're still an idiot.
DaBen:
mattay really? we have tons of light heart questions but you have to learn to respect serious vents. Or if you don't think you're a big enough boy to pick out the proper questions to provide your comment to, feel free to PM me with the list of questions you want to answer and I'll help you pick them out.
thedude:
mattaya...who spoon feeds you your talking points? You are a class A idiot!
liver cancer is treatable, i might be confusing it with something else. good luck to your friend tell him keep searching doctors.
John, sorry to hear about your friend. Keep in mind however, that a "doctor" that is trained to prescribe IV antibiotics for every ailment and hand over mounds of different color pills for the purpose of making money might not be the best source of a diagnosis.
Did they do abdominal ultrasounds or an MRI? You don't normally just get liver cancer, it's usually something that developes from having cirrhosis, hepatitus A/B, or even an overload of iron in the diet. Did he have any of these issues previously? If not, the cancer claim might be dubious at best.
If he does actually have liver cancer, there are options. There is a new drug called Nexavar that greatly slows the growth rate of tumors (especially in the liver - it's been FDA approved in the US), plus there are often surgical options that perhaps don't offer a complete cure, but can prolong life for quite some time. Transplant is also a possiblity.
I'd try to get him to a real doctor ASAP. I agree that most of the health care here is awful, the Chinese medical community is too proud to admit that their 2000 year old witch craft and magic recipes are nothing but foul tasting tea with little to no benefits.
Shining_brow:
Sorry for your friend.. I have quite a few Chinese friends here, and I'd hate for them to get ill as well! It scares me to hear when my students just get a little sick and have to go to the hospitals! On top of what Mr.Tibbles said, also remember that we really only need about 1/3 of our current liver's size to function ok... sure, not a great solution, but hey - it's better than just been thrown out of a hospital and told that's it! Mr.T - remember that Hepatitis is fairly common in some parts of China... so, fairly easy to get that one. But, as you advise - get a real diagnosis! Expat J - take your friend to an international hospital.. sure, it will cost you a lot more, but then, what's your friend worth???For my friends, I'd throw out thousands of maos... if I thought they were getting the right diagnosis and treatment . FTR - yes, healthcare here SUCKS!!!
That makes me sick...I am sorry for your friend.
I have been fortunate enough to not have needed medical treatment so far here, and even more fortunate that I am a 30 minute train ride from HK.
I would have to be near death to go to a local hospital.
I thought this was a communist country...obviously I was wrong.
Xpat.John:
Thank you all for your comments and concern. My friend was at the top hospital for cancer patients in S. China so there was no better place in China for him to be. The company that he worked for (an international company) 25 years is very kindly picking up the cost of his healthcare. Hong baos have been given many times by my friend, his boss, his boss's boss and even myself. Making sure the greedy staff was paid off very well. His cancer is indeed terminal and at this stage, according to the specialists he has less than a month to go. He is now at his home surrounded by his family, friends, co-workers and classmates. I suppose that when my time comes, I would want to pass in comfortable surroundings rather than a cold hospital room as well. Once again, thank you all for allowing me to vent.
