"Zhou Ruomei?"
"Yes."
Although Doctor Hu didnât know why she was asking about this person, he could sense something and agreed to help her inquire further.
Gathering information takes time.
After the lunch break, they returned to the department for work and study.
Doctor Zuoliang said to interns Xie Wanying and Geng Yongzhe, "In the afternoon, weâll go with Teacher Du to Guo Zhi Hospital to see a patient."
Why? Isnât it said that Aunt Min was discharged from Guo Zhi Hospital?
"Guo Zhi Hospital sent an inter-hospital consultation request to Teacher Du." Doctor Zuoliang explained, "It was personally sent by Director Zhang Huayao, so Teacher Du finds it hard to refuse."
What kind of patient?
This consultation request form is with Du Haiwei. After viewing the application, Du Haiwei didnât really want to talk. As Doctor Zuoliang mentioned, if it werenât for Zhang Huayaoâs face, Du Haiwei wouldnât want to go at all.
Doctors participating in consultations donât get chauffeured as people often assume. A hospital only has a few vehicles, and inter-hospital consultations are common. Doctor Zuoliang drove everyone to Guo Zhi Hospital in the afternoon.
Upon arriving at Guo Zhi Hospital, someone was waiting at the inpatient department entranceâa young inpatient doctor with a crew cut and slightly short stature, surnamed Yu. Tasked by superiors, Dr. Yuh came to receive them and lead them to the cardiac surgery department, Section One.
Cardiac Surgery Section One is Guo Zhi Hospitalâs largest focal department, with an astonishing seventy-two beds and five single-patient rooms. Are these supposed to be the hospitalâs best rooms? No. These rooms are essentially suites situated in the regular inpatient department, mixed with regular patients, with no difference in surrounding medical environment.
The truly good hospital rooms are situated in independent areas, separated from regular inpatient departments. Hospitals like Guoxie Guozhi and similar public hospitals have such rooms, called the International VIP Section, colloquially known as special care wards.
Outsiders have many fanciful imaginations and envy about the patients in VIP wards, though insiders feel this jealousy is unwarranted.
Doctors and nurses providing medical services to VIP patients also regularly serve other patients in ordinary wards. Experts cannot just treat VIP patients daily; healthcare professionals need a significant workload to maintain their technical skills, unless they donât wish to work clinically anymore. Especially surgeons, if they donât practice, their skills can quickly deteriorate.
The medical services provided to regular patients and VIP patients donât differ as much as rumors suggest; the biggest difference lies in the hospitalization environment.
Adding a television and an independent ward can yield hundreds of times more revenue, why wouldnât it be good then? The hospitalâs premium services undoubtedly raise prices by hundreds, and no medical staff would willingly serve the wealthy diligently without money. For these patientsâ charges, the hospital is indeed bold in its pricing. Apart from insurance companies footing the bill, most pay out of pocket themselves. This is akin to selling luxury goods globally; the seller sets the price, the buyer willingly pays.
Those who truly understand medicine, like Zhang Huayao, feel bringing in several such patients to generate revenue for the hospital and benefit the public is best. Normally, wealthy people are reluctant to spend more, and only in these circumstances are they willing.
A good doctor can use skills to leverage wealthy peopleâs money to aid the impoverished. Only doctors with poor skills can survive by hoping to scrape the handful of coins from the poorâs pockets.
Visiting Cardiac Surgery Section One first, because it houses the most specialists, traditionally responsible for the majority of VIP section patientsâ diagnosis and treatment. Cardiac Surgery Section One has a corridor directly leading to the VIP section.