Korean Job Discussion Forums

[khyber]

First off, who out there has been conned by (or has almost been conned by) a hospital?

It seems really dirty and underhanded of a hospital to prey on people's ignorance, trust, and hope.

I have heard several of my friends complain about hospitals around Busan saying that they tend to be fast and loose with the use of their CT scanners. CT scans, to the best of my knowledge, are NOT covered by health insurance so hospitals tend to see that as relatively quick money.
But please point out if I'm wrong folks.

To my story:
I had a wicked stomach ache...unlike anything I've had before, and headed on down to the DONG AH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL emergency room (it was 1230 at night).
After 1.5 hours of messing around and a very nonconfident intern, I was told that my intestines had a blockage. They had to "Decompress my stomach".
This meant, pushing a hose up my nose, down my throat and into my stomach (that was some rough rough sh it by the way). Once that was done, they used a plunger to force air into my stomach.

Eventually, I started to feel things moving and the pain and pressure was gone. Sure enough, I was poopin within 30 minutes...not nice ones but hey...beggars can't choose.

This morning (at around 6) I had another xray AND blood test done. As best as I could tell, they also took my stomach contents: All of this to see if I was unblocked (don't ask how the latter two would indicate that...).

Nobody talked ot me about the xray, but by this point, my stomach was feeling great.

An hour later and a couple of new, considerably more confident interns (or young doctors) sat at my bedside and started the shpeil:
"We need your permission to get a CT scan".
I said no. They questioned that; I explained that they had xrays, blood and stomach contents, I was certain they could figure it out.
They left. 15 minutes later, a new pair came in. One of these two fellas was really, REALLY intense about it. Not abusive but he sat on my bed and moved his face to within 6" of mine trying to convince me. He said things like, "But maybe it isn't your intestines that are blocked; the xray won't show anything; the procedure you had done (a tube down my throat with air forced into it) wasn't actually meant to fix your intestines ;you MUST have a CT scan or you will be sick tonight". I stood firm.
They said htey would talk to the surgeon.
They talked to her (a foxy/nerd hotty) who then came and talked to me:
"Why don't you want a CT scan".
I said, "You can look at hte xray. I've also heard stories from other foreigners about doctors pushing unnecessary CT scans and I don't think that's very honest....blah blah blah...not condescending or anything but, making it clear".
She replied with a, and I was shocked by this, "Well honestly, you do not have to have a CT scan." She went back to take another look at my second xray and returned saying, "Actually your xrays indicate that you intestines are fine...there is no blockage"

Long story short kids, if hospitals are selling CT scans...HARD, don't think you MUST have one. Feel your body; if it tells you're fine, you are more than likely fine (not like my doctors: "Sure you feel okay now, but that doesn't mean the blockage isn't there"!?

As a last ditch resort, I'd suggest you have the doctor show you, and explain your xrays to show why a CT scan is necessary.


It's such boolsheet that hospitals (well, some DOCTORS, really) pull this garbage; it's unconsciounable...or however you spell it.

[ulsanchris]

the doctors here are a bunch of crooks. most of them are at any rate. I herniated a disc a few years back. within one minute of being in the doctors office the doctor said i would need surgery and an MRI. I said no to the first and ok the second. after the doc saw the MRI he said i needed surgery again. I said no way again. He gave me some pain killers and muscle relaxants and told me to come back in a few days. while at home i did some research on line and found out doctor back home hardly every do MRIs for a herniated disc and they almost never do surgery. I went a back a few days later and the doc again insisted i have surgery, i said no. then he sent me to the physical therapist in the hospital. I had to see the therapist 5 or six times. Each time before I could see the therapist I had to see the doctor first. He kept saying I looked better and sent me to the therapist. each visit took about one minute. I didn't need to see him at all, but each time I visited he got paid more money. After a couple of weeks i was ok and surprise surprise I didn't need surgery.
Not too long ago I had another medical problem which i won't go into to much detail. Suffice it to say the doctor wanted to operate and was quite insistent about it. I said no and went to a doctor I knew personally and he said i didn't need surgery at all. And that some of the tests the first doctor did weren't needed at all.

A bit of advice: become friendly with any of your students whose parent is a doctor. If you have a medical problem then meet your students father and have him refer to a doctor friend of his with the correct specialty. You will notice a world of difference with the level of care you will get.

[Harpeau]

[ulsanchris]

the doctors have the scam here where they only give a few days worth of medicine rather than a full course so they can get more insurance money. The more you visit the more money they get. Also they get kick backs from the drug companies which is why they give out so many drugs. The second doctor who wanted to do surgery on me also gave me some drugs. The doctor who i went to for a second opinion told me that I didn't those drugs.

I didn't say all doctors here were crooks, but many of them are.

also i didn't mean to be gender specific, I personally know some women doctors but generally doctors here are male. and i guess i lapsed into sexist english usage, but whatever. You get my point anyways.

[Bibbitybop]

Severance Hospital's International Clinic in Sinchon next to Yonsei University. Go there to avoid this type of BS.

[ajgeddes]

Agreed. Everytime I feel I need to see a doctor here, I think long and hard about it. I don't know if I already told this story, but here it is anyway.

In December, I was having huge chest problems and I couldn't breathe properly and really couldn't sleep at night. After about a month of it getting progressively worse, I decided I needed to see a doctor. (GF did an internet search for the best doctor to see concerning this and luckily he was near my neighbourhood.) Anyways, I go in and he tells me almost instantly that I have asthma, even though I had none of the symptoms from asthma, and he gives me some medicine, 4 days worth. I took the medicine and the problem continued to get worse to the point where I could NEVER get a deep breath. I came back 4 days later and told him it was getting worse. He reaffirms that it is just a case of asthma. Now, here is the best part. First, he says I just need double the medicine (which I am pretty sure is making it worse), and second, he asks me why I feel I need to be able to take deep breaths. That was basically the point where I got out of there stopped taking the medicine, drank some green tea and got better within a week.


This next story is my friend's.

He had a lump on his neck and he had no idea what it was. So, he went to go see the doctor and was told he needed surgery to remove the bump. He didn't like that, so he went to a second doctor, who said the same thing. After this, he was getting really worried. So, he went to go see the international doctor in Hannam-dong, who just gave him 7 days worth of anti-biotics and the problem was gone for good.

The problem here is that medical school is just like every other university in Korea. As long as you get in, you are going to graduate.

[kotakji]

A hint for the few days medicine problem- ask the receptionist to extend the prescription out. In every case that I've done this they've complied- apparently they dont need the doctor to sign off on it hehe.

[Octavius Hite]

Its private folks, and you gotta take the good with the bad. First off in 2007 you should not being going to the doctor with a hernia or similarly easily diagnosed problems without first doing a little research to have an idea of what to expect. You wouldn't buy a car with checking the net, same here.

For all the skullduggery related to private medicine its still way cheaper than the US and more efficient than Canada. In my first small town of 50K people they had an MRI clinic and local bus service for it. In many parts of Canada you have to wait 6 weeks to get an MRI.

Moral of the story: Do your research, get some stones and say no to unreasonable things, and just be thankful you have insurance and aren't living in india or china.

[poet13]

Ok, this wasn't in Korea. It was in the Philippines, but it also illustrates the idea that if you can get in, you graduate.
So I did a header over my handlbars on my bicycle a few years ago. When I woke up, (no lid) my shoulder hurt somethin' fierce. I managed to get over to the side of the road and sit on a bench. I gently lift the collar of my shirt to the side, and I can see that the skin at the end of my collarbone is pushed up like a tent and stretched white. Damn. Broke my collarbone. After about fifteen minutes and a couple of false starts, I get back on my bike, slowly (could only use my front brake) ride 4 or 5 klicks home, drop my bike and head over to the hospital. They take me in, and some kid x-rays my shoulder. Takes the film to the attending emergency room physician, and she says my shoulder is ok. Does my shoulder LOOK ok? No. Another x-ray. Shoulder is still not broken. She says so. I look at the film. She's right. Nothing in my shoulder is broken. She says, I'm sorry for you, I hope you feel better. Ummm, wait please. Miss, could you do a bilateral x-ray? Huh? You know, an x-ray showing both shoulders? She says it's very expensive. How much? Almost 15 US dollars. Let's do it just for fun. Wow, your shoulder is really broken. You need to have a plate put in to pin your collarbone back to your shoulder.
Despite the fact that the skin on my shoulder was stretched white, and up into a point, and looked wildly different from my left, the on-call would only accept what the x-ray said.
I never did get the plate put in cause I wouldn't trust a doctor there to cut me open after that little farce, and to this day, one shoulder hangs about an inch lower than the other.

[khyber]

[Young FRANKenstein]