Hospital Nightmare

@PalawOne I sure wish he could have  mentioned the name of the hospital but I know that, due to the strict slander laws here, it was wise for him not to. I would like to find the list of JCI accredited hospitals in the Philippines. We have a few private hospitals here that might be but no way would our govt provincial, that accepts phil health as payment in full, be qualified.

Where do you find all this tripe P1?

Cheers, Steve.

St. Lukes has a great reputation. . . .

When I told my US Cardiologist (a Filipino Doctor) that my stepson was a nurse at St. Lukes he praised the hospital.

Shortly after moving here my wife became very ill and spent about 10 days at St. Lukes, their diagnosis was an UTI infection (Cost about $9,000)

Several months the same problem, again the diagnosis was UTI another 10 days and another $9000.

A third time back to St Lukes with the same symptoms, this time $10,000. The problem was kidney stones and operation. (paid up front).

The costs just keep adding up, an office visit to remove a stent $1500, plus follow up visits of P1500, expensive meds plus lab tests.

If it was diagnosed correctly I could have save $18,000.

Where do you find all this tripe P1?
Cheers, Steve.
-@bigpearl

Between the Lechon Baboy and Pag Pag.

@Enzyte Bob It seems there is no accountability here for repeated misdiagnosis. It's almost as if misdiagnosis is a profit center for them...a JCI "accredited" profit center lol.

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This 'treatment' from an apparently well-regarded Phils hospital seems shocking.

And I'd guess it's true, written by a doctor and published in a national newspaper.

So anyway as Dan and Bob suggest, and I'd agree, this is simply not good enough.

If this treatment is typical of the 'big name' medical hospitals, imagine what your normal or smaller or poor-area or geographically isolated hospitals are like for professional medical treatment?

I know my wife, whose family comes from a small island group, says no-one dares visit their 'hospital' on the big island because their one doctor is widely regarded as bat-shit crazy. And very likely to kill you. Besides which, their one-bed 'hospital' has zero medical equipment, or medicines.

However, I'd guess their main concern is the skill and knowledge of their doctor?

Seems, good doctors, that's what really matters. So, what can be done about this?

I don't know. Do us folks have any ideas about improving Phils medical treatment?

Maybe one idea, as most areas have reasonable internet these days, perhaps the current Marcos government could invest in providing systems of basic and simple tele-health resources?

With just an office, any nurse should be able to conduct elementary diagnostic medical examinations, utilizing your simple, basic diagnostic medical equipment?

Then the nurse might report their results to 24 hour on-line tele-health doctors in Manila?

With good diagnostic staff, and tele-health resources, then reasonably professional, country-wide medical assistance might indeed be possible?

Quick and fairly cheap to implement. Maybe worth trying?

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@PalawOne Here in Dumaguete my wife was able to have online face to face with the Silliman university med doctor and it worked out well, even sending prescriptions thru email. It was like a zoom call but using a different medical app called "Now Serving". Not sure if other hospitals have a similar service. Doctors already rely on medical techs and specialists to operate diagnostic equipment that neither doctors nor nurses are trained to operate. My doctors always repeat blood pressure tests taken by the office nurse and are probably not ready to delegate much responsibility to their "helpers", just my opinion. A hard nut to crack here and it's not just about money.

When in the states many CVS drug stores had a mini clinic with an RN for simple things on a Walk-In basis.

While my Medicare Advantage provider had numerous Clinics for Walk-Ins with Doctors and Lab, thus avoiding an appointment with your Primary Doctor weeks away.

I would simply go online and check the wait time of the various clinics, sometimes driving further for a shorter wait.

@PalawOne Here in Dumaguete my wife was able to have online face to face with the Silliman university med doctor
-@danfinn

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Pretty soon the online doctor will be in India.

I am still not convinced telemed is as good as face2face. The doctor cannot see your body language and your smell. To me, guesswork is much broad in telemed.

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@PalawOne My doctors always repeat blood pressure tests taken by the office nurse and are probably not ready to delegate much responsibility to their "helpers"

-@danfinn

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I am still in the US. If I am coming in for my routine cardio checkup, the doctor sometimes check my again after the nurse does the history taking and vitals. If I am coming in on a sick call (i.e. cough & cold), the doctor does not re-check my BP.

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Thanks Dan and Bob. You both seem to have provided excellent suggestions regarding more accessible, top-quality-but-with-lower-cost medical care for everyone. Correct, Dan and Bob?

And Jackson, thanks for the news re India. That's indeed great news for a county that really needs such care.

And gents, all of your suggestions would seem to offer significantly better / quicker / cheaper Philippines medical care? So, apparently significant medical-care improvements in the Philippines are not a complete mystery.

Dan, your suggestion might readily and most securely be government run, and yours Bob might most easily be funded by the private sector. Though both could also readily be either?

All we need now is for the Phils government to hear this and be brave/bold and explore such?

All, surely medical care provisioning is right up there at the top of government responsibility?

For instance, here in Australia I've had heart by-pass surgery, a hip replacement, and recently, had plastic surgery for a minor skin cancer. All completely FREE. At no charge what-so-ever.

Also of course, every visit to my own, selected GP also my local hospital are also completely free-of-charge, and have been for many, many years. In fact, free or very nearly so, for most of my life. It's what we Australians wanted and so our government listened to everyone, and then just did it.

Would suggest the Philippines government listen to all of the problems their people face with medical care, and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. That's your job, that's why people elected you!!!

That what governments are for, to provide for what-ever a majority of their population wants. Ok, maybe not free in a country of more than 100 million, but surely better care than all the horror medical stories that we hear!

With all due respect, come on President Marcos !!

(Rant-mode off)