702 Gallop (1/2)
”I'll perform a physical examination.” Ling Ran did let those emotions stray him from the path.
The patient's family immediately gave up some space and looked at Ling Ran with expectation. Ever since they came to Yun Hua Hospital, they heard a lot of news about Doctor Ling, so their expectations had been increasing along with their level of gratitude.
”Can you hear me?” When Ling Ran faced the patient, his voice raised slightly.
The patient tried hard to open his eyes and took a look at Ling Ran before he nodded weakly.
It was considered very good for a patient who had massive bleeding in a major surgery to even be able to move his head a little. Ling Ran let the family members leave for a while before he drew the curtains and lifted the patient's quilt to perform a physical examination.
On that day, Lin Honghou made a big incision to find the bleeding point, and now, the patient's upper body part was covered like a mummy. This naturally affected the prognosis, but there was nothing that could be done to it anymore. Lin Honghou's thoughts that day was that if he could not find the bleeding point, the size of the incision would not matter to the corpse as well.
In fact, without Ling Ran's help, Lin Honghou probably might not be able to find the bleeding point anyway.
Such was the result of a less-skilled doctor. However, from another perspective, Lin Honghou was already an expert among doctors. Even when he was compared to the associate chief physicians of tertiary Grade A hospitals, he was by no means subpar. In fact, based on what happened on that day, even if a department director from a tertiary Grade A hospital were here, while the patient might be rescued, those odds were less than optimal. Their chances of saving the patient might not be any higher than Lin Honghou.
An associate chief physician or chief physician must have better skills or be more experienced than a normal attending physician, but their skills might not be able to surpass a doctor like Lin Honghou.
Ling Ran's barehanded bleeding control was at the top in the world — it could even be said that Ling Ran was an abnormality in the medical world.
There was only one supreme doctor, yet there were thousands of patients. In other industries, it did not matter a lot whether the top scholars were serving the customers or whether the company produced the best product for the customers, but in the medical field, when there was a life at stake, the cruelty hidden in the modern medical system would start to reveal itself.
Ling Ran tried to perform a complete physical examination, drew the curtains, and said to Zuo Cidian, ”Later, we still need to book for a PET scan and checked his condition.”
The PET scan was the only medical imaging device that could show the metastasis of cancerous cells. The cost of making one and checking a patient was also the most expensive one among all medical imaging devices. It cost around 10,000 RMB per use, and it also took a long time to check a person using a PET scan. However, a PET scan had features other devices could not replace, so it was still frequently used. Furthermore, there were not many places that installed this device, thus, appointment was needed.
Yun Hua Hospital only had one PET scan device, and it was even the first to be installed in Changxi Province. In a very spendthrift manner, they arranged a total of four medical imaging doctors to take care of it. If there were no emergency cases during the queuing time, two days was usually needed before the patient could get the scan.
Zuo Cidian made some simple introductions to the patient and the family members. Then, he went out and whispered to Ling Ran, ”The patient did not buy a lot of medical insurance, so they basically have to bear the cost themselves. They are now still quite hesitant because of how much the PET scan costs.”
Doctor Zhou said, ”Many patients who use PET scans still have to pay a high amount on their own, even if they have insurance. In the United States, it costs around 10,000 USD per use. Those lower-class and middle-class patients who do not have 100,000 RMB of annual income might need to pay more than us after they claim their insurance.”
Zuo Cidian waved his hands, ”The patient is one of the shareholders of the fishing boat. In this accident, not only did he lose his fishing boat, but he also needs to bear the responsibility for the loss of the fishermen on his boat and pay compensation. That is truly quite difficult for him.”
”Are you seriously telling me that the fishing boat is not covered by insurance either?” Doctor Zhou asked.
”Insurance for boats exist. But they dare not use that amount of money, because they want to buy a new fishing boat. Otherwise, if the other shareholders need to spend more money on it, he will be kicked out as a shareholder, and it'll be difficult for him to continue with the business,” Zuo Cidian was explaining by the side, ”What they meant was that they're trying to save as much as possible.”
”So, they do not want to go for the PET scan?” Ling Ran asked.
”They're not completely averse to it.” Zuo Cidian stopped for a while and looked at Ling Ran before he said, ”But I have another thought…”