Who would agree with me on this?

On a recent visit to a private hospital in Subang Jaya, the doctor i attended honestly was not a friendly guy at all. After litening to my problems, he asked me to get some tests done even without explaining to me properly what could be the problem.

After all the test, he said he would need to do an op. when i said it was too expensive, he just said "well, this private hospital is not for everybody" "There are many government or semi government hospitals you can go to" saying it in such a cocky way.

Today's doctors are really out for money. The slightest of stomach pain these days and the doctor will say, oh, we have to do a scope. Scope = money.

Aren't doctors supposed to be friendly, informative, helpful and kind? These doctors always feel they have the advantage because we as the patients do not know anything.

How do we complain about doctors? what can we do? I also know that nurses especially in the operating theater face a horid time with these doctors but some hospital management never sack these doctors. why??

unless you know the doctor well, always get a second opinion especially if they ask you to admit for checkup. There are many honest doctor as well. I think nowdays the private hospital management will pressure the doctors to bring in more business. The first common question will be "Do you have medical insurance?" Just like those days bank officers are required to promote bank credit cards to their customers.
I always go to my family doctor and if necessary, he will recommend me to private hospital for further tests.

Its perhaps now a fact that the rakyat are at the mercy and face high expenditure to depend on private hospitals and its band of doctors where they capitalize on the grave weaknesses (failure perhaps) of government's medical facility and aid to the rakyat. Like one prominent minister stated (on another topic where the rakyat are to bear own expense)..wanna use..pay lah!. Its sad to hear such arrogance. Yet, the taxpayer have to foot the bill in sending man to space...makes me puke!.
Look after yourself well folks and stay healthy. Don't eat too much outside food!.

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Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

I do sympatised with you jayded. I am sure not all doctors are like that but having said that I also notice that the trend nowadays are toward this and it is frankly worriying. I also believe that the altrernative here lies in the government hospital. I know many will complain about the services there but compared with before it is so much better now. Furthermore, there are more doctors in the public sector compared to the private. In the privte setting, money speak wonder. Doctors being mindful of this fact usually give you the take it or leave it stance knowing fully well that illness is a distressing thing and urgent.
The other thing is to complaint these doctors to the MMC. You can also write in to the newspaper too.

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HEAVEN IS SO REAL
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

scoping is expensive...i did scoping for my knee which includes 6 nights stay at sunway, physio treatment, lab test, operation theater fees, anestatic fees, cssd supplies and etc...all about 13500.... thank god that my company insurance paid for me...

My uncle was one of those unlucky one's too. He went for a check up at this private hospital in PJ. This doctor checked him and asked him to do some tests. The results came back and the doctor said, "ok, you're fine but just in case, i will refer you to this doctor (also in the same hospital, mind you) just to get a second opinion. So my uncle went and told this doctor that he was just refered to and showed him the results. immediatly this new doctor said "oh, we have to do the test again" My uncle was like, but i just did it and the results are ok. and the doctor went " this is the problem with patients, they think they are smarter then doctors". "Are you the doctor or me"?? My uncle was shocked at the same time angry with this doc. He stared at this doc and said dont you dare talk at me like that because dont you think you can con me! and the doctor went like " i never asked you to come to me. you can go outside and check with many doctors, just dont waste my time"!!!

how schocking! a reputable hospital. Ask the nurses in these hospitals and they will tell you the rot that is in there. But on the outside, these hospitals potray such a good image.

I refer case to you, you charge and then you refer to another and then another charge. Patient just pay and pay.

i cry for you malaysian include myself if we have any family member need to admit to private hospital without company or insurance coverage, no need to wait few years down the road it's oledi happening it's really a serious issue of imbalance income vs charges ...you will be both in emotional and financial trauma, no escape. With no price control from govt and continue promotion of healthcare tourism .. the cost will just keep escalating for the local .. i hope some saint can step in to tackle this soon, but he himself was caught pant down.

many talk abt how affordable and highly skill our public hospital are, that i will not argue i salute those docs that diligently serving there .. but the fact is we seldom see VIP passed away in general hospital when everything is so good, why?

To plug leakage in our healthcare system, there must also be a stop for foreigner to abuse our general hospital that escape without paying. This can reduce the load of the hospitals n indirectly discourage their illegal entrance.

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Do Unto Others

"Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury -- to me, these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best for both the body and the mind." --- Albert Einstein

You know why your uncle was treated like this by this "smart" doctor ?

It is because this smart alec dare not take up your uncle case because your uncle will be asking him a lot of question which he know he cannot answer. So to avoid being found out that he does not know, he play this smart alec game and indirectly ask your uncle to go away.

Actually patients are smarter people. With internet they should study their condition and question the doctors on what they want to do. Patient must be aware of the risks of taking the treatment and advise also.

That seems a bit expensive for one knee. What exactly was done? And why do you need to stay 6 nights? By right a "normal" knee arthroscopy should only need to stay 2-3 nights at the most. In USA >90% of such surgery are done as day-case (admit morning go home evening).

Its difficult to generalise all doctors as unscrupulous,they are just like lawyers..its a risk you have to take sometimes..You do come across some genuine Doctors who care more about your health rather then you cash.

It wasnt like this before.

btw doctor charger is still not the one that is exorbitant .. it's pharmacy and cen sterile sup dept that ripping u off .. those r gold mine for hospital management.

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Do Unto Others

"Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury -- to me, these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best for both the body and the mind." --- Albert Einstein

this thread recalling my accident 12 years ago.

I still remember that I met an accident at Pudu, KL and ppl around rushing me to the nearest clinic. Still very clear on what the doctor told me that time. "Please dont stay at here. You are disturbing me doing business". Then, someone told her that i just got an accident. Do you know what she reply? She said, "Who going to pay the bill after the treatment?"

At that time, I just cant believe my ear. Hearing such words from a DOCTOR'S mouth.

You might as well add, Lawyers were not like before. Teachers were not like before, blah blah

From the doctors perspective, actually Patients were not like before too. We see increasingly patients with unreasonable demands and who don't know that their behaviour is obnoxious

The common feature in this thread is about $$$. Everyone is concerned about this and it seems that healthcare should be a "essential right" like food, shelter, education which we don't pay for either (hmmm?)

Seriously, why gripe about this when you people should realise the problem lies in the healthcare system. We don't have a proper National Healthcare Financing system (the one in the pipleline seems to take forever) so unless you are insured or covered by your employer, the money comes out of your pocket if you happen to seek care at a private healthcare facilty. The latter is not a charitable institution and is not there to make financial losses.

The blame goes to the doctors but the majority of hospitals are indeed owned by business corporations and if you look at the bill, you know where the bulk of the charges go. Under the law (PHFSA), doctors professional charges are controlled but hospital charges are not. So please vent your anger at the Government for this mess.

In the past medicine was simple but now things are getting very complex and there expensive tests, procedures and treatments which weren't available yesteryear. Expectations of cure are also high (not like before, where in the past many illnesses could not be effectively treated) and all these things drive up cost.

So yes, everything is not like before.

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Malaysian Medical Resources

Doc, you are right. Patients nowadays are becoming their own doctors and usually do their own second opinion and also come to a conclusion that they either don't need that operation they deem unnecssary and if they do, the cost of the operation is always 50 - 70% less. The good old days where there are hardly any private healthcare provider, people put all the trust in the doctor and didn't even doubt in them. Now the patients are all pampared with wide choices in not only selecting the medical centre but also which doctor or consultant can treat them. We are not going to degrade our doctors just like we have done to our teachers. Everything come with a price.

I have yet to read in this forum somebody lying on the road dying in an accident, takes out his lastest PDA phone, log into www.usj.com.my and ask "Can somebody recommend me a good neurosurgeon and which hospital I should go to?" I will be the first to reply and would not hesitate to recommend some of the best neurosurgeons in the state of the art hospitals but unfortunately all of them are not in Malaysia.