A Visit to the 医院Yīyuàn (Hospital)

This week I have been suffering from a case of severe sinus congestion, headache, and a mild fever off and on. We received a care package from my mother-in-law (thank you very much) that had all the staples; coffee, creamer, and candy, but it also had over the counter medicines. Unfortunately, none of that helped. In fact, Thursday night I developed a new symptom, the cold moved into my throat. Because I will be teaching next week (a university is giving me a trial run), I will need my voice. So Friday morning I decided to visit the 医院to get some 中药(zhōngyào or Chinese medicine). Going to the hospital in China is much different than going in the US. The first step is registration. When you register you must tell them the purpose of your visit, and then pay your registration fee. In my case, since I wanted to see the doctor, it was 30 RMB. After paying my fee, I was immediately ushered into the examination room. Much to my surprise the doctor spoke English really well because he had spent 10 years in Zurich and 1 year in New York practicing medicine. His office was very new, and stocked with modern equipment. The nurse, who also spoke pretty good English, took my vitals using a digital thermometer and digital BP cuff. The BP cuff didn’t appear to be working correctly though, because it registered a BP of 168/94 for me. That is a ridiculously high number for me. The nurse didn’t believe it either so she took it herself manually. She came up with 116/68, a healthier and much more believable number. After getting that settled, the doctor asked about my symptoms, how long had I been ill, and to describe the pain in my throat. After that, he looked inside my mouth (it is interesting that even Chinese doctors tell you to open up and say ah…), and told me that I had an infection. He asked me if I wanted antibiotics, and seemed pleased when I told him I wanted to try 中药. He said he was an expert at using traditional Chinese medicine. He then ordered a blood test to make sure that he was not over -looking anything. Well, that required a return to the registration desk, where I had to pay for the blood test. This cost 79 RMB. Once that was taken care of, I was whisked away to the bloodletting room, where the same nurse took 1 vial of blood, which was turned over to a tech for immediate testing. I was then taken back to the exam room, where I waited for the test results. While waiting, the doctor explained to me how to cook the Chinese medicine, and instructed that if I had any questions at all, I was to call him personally. He even gave me his cell phone number. Fifteen minutes after they received the blood, the results were in. The doctor said everything looked fine, so he wrote my prescription. Along with the 中药, he was going to give me an antibiotic, and vitamin C. Before I could get them, I had to go one more time to the registration desk. This time the cost was 39.50 RMB. After paying the fee, I was taken to the pharmacy, where I was provided with the meds. Since the 中药needed to be cooked, they said they would take care of the first day’s dose, and I could take care of the second. I had to go home for a couple hours while they got it ready. When I returned, they gave me an antique looking bottle filled with a murky brown liquid that promised to taste absolutely vile. The nurse told me to mix honey with it if it was too bitter for me. I knew just from looking at it that the honey would definitely be in play.
My visit to the医院Yīyuàn was very interesting. It is weird that you have to pay for each everything in advance, but the prices are quite reasonable. My entire visit cost a little less than 150 RMB which is about $22 US. For the professional care that I received, the modern equipment, the blood test, and antibiotics, without insurance, I shudder to think what that would have cost me back in the States. Another difference is, in the US, most visits to the hospital require an investment of several hours even before you get to see the doctor. Once you get in to see him, if he orders a blood test, that takes some time, and you usually don’t get the results for a week. So far, my experience visiting the医院(Yīyuàn), has been really good. Now let’s just hope the 中药 helps. – 付伟国
Don't live in a town where there are no doctors.
Jewish Proverb

PS - The mess simmering in the pot is the medicine while it is being cooked. The bottle is the finished product.