Finally, No More Medical Syringes and Needles (Part 2)

It took me one week before I continued my narrative about my confinement in a hospital due to high fever and persistent cough. The reason is not because I'm busy and do not have the time, but rather, I just let myself calm down first so that when I finally share my experience and the lessons learned, they will be based on facts and not on emotions.

To make the long story short, let me start by saying that I was disappointed with the way the services of a certain hospital (where I got confined) was rendered. I was attended by the consultant when I was already on my second day of confinement, August 12, 2012 at about 5:00 pm, and the visit lasted for a few minutes only. He merely asked me a question or two on how I felt regarding my health concerns. I complained about the pain in my stomach that radiated towards my back, and he told me it was just muscle pains due to my chronic cough. The resident doctor who accompanied the consultant mentioned my daughter's request to have a KUB (kidney + urinary bladder) ultrasound done, because she found out I had RBCs (blood) in my urine, which may signify the presence of kidney stones. After that brief encounter with my attending physician, we were back to the normal routine with nurses and interns attending to me, checking on my BP, temperature, administering my oral medications, and injecting Cefuroxime (antibiotic) through my intravenous line. Meanwhile, my eldest son Mark worked on my transfer to a more comfortable room.
       The next day, August 13, 2012, the consultant visited me again at about 8:00am. He did not say anything except "Very good, I see you've transferred to a new room."  I told him about my plans of checking out of the hospital as soon as possible. He said we still have to wait for the results of the ultrasound which was done at around 6:00am that morning. Late in the afternoon, my son followed up the ultrasound results but the staff at the nurse's station told him that the doctor should be the one to discuss results with the patient.
       On my fourth day of confinement, August 14, 2012, I was really determined to check out. There were  no updates on the results of the laboratory examinations done to me, but I was feeling better already and I thought I will get much better when I'm home. Mark facilitated my billing statement, which he later showed me. Lo and behold! I was shocked to find out that the consultant's professional fee was a lumpsum of ten thousand and five hundred pesos (Php 10,500). This hefty amount covered merely two insignificant visits from my doctor (P4,500 charged to my Philhealth plus P6,000 directly payable to the consultant. Overall, my total bill was P41,289.20 for four days stay in the hospital. I did not immediately pay the bill, and instead, my initial reaction was to question the P10,500 professional fee. I thought that it was too much for just two quick visits by the consultant, not to mention that I truly felt I was not taken good care of. I then requested to talk to the Medical Director but I the staff tried to convinced me that they will just negotiate it on my behalf.
       The head of the Billing Section acted as mediator over the issue, and she discussed it with the Medical Director, who then contacted the consultant. Finally at about 5:00 pm, the consultant entered my room. I discussed with him my concerns, and after our conversation, he agreed to waive the P4,500 reimbursable from Philhealth, which the hospital would later have to pay me (after they receive the check from SSS). This means I will be have to pay the consultant an amount of P6,000 cash instead of P10,500.
       Before I finally checked out from the Hospital, the Billing Section requested me to drop by, and I was surprised as I found out that their head, Ellen, was my former student in UE. A bigger surprise came when she told me that before the consultant signed my Medical Abstract, he changed the final diagnosis from Community Aquired Pneumonia to just Acute Bronchitis. In effect, the amount reimbursable from Philhealth was reduced from an initial amount of P4,500 to merely P1,500.  Ellen apologized but I could only sigh in disappointment as I realized the unprofessionalism of the consultant. I knew he changed my final diagnosis for me to get a smaller amount of reimbursement from SSS (rates of Philhealth benefits are affected by the final diagnoses of an admitted patient). It was clear that he wanted to get even with me after I complained about the exorbitant fee he was charging earlier.
       I thanked all the staff for all the help they extended to me, but at the back of my mind, I vowed never to set foot in that hospital again.

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