Yesterday, when I stopped in to see "Candy" (the assistant appointed to help us with all things Chinese) I dropped off my passport for a visa extension and also asked if she would go with me to the hospital to get a physical. She wasn't excited. But she said she would meet me the next day at 8 a.m. to go to the biggest and best hospital in Changzhou.
After a short cab ride, we walked in to the gigantic building that was a hospital. It was huge, noisy, loud and absolutely swollen with people. There were so many things going on and so many different lines, counters and windows that it felt like a mixture between a circus and a bank. We got in one of the lines which Candy explained to me was to get a number to see a doctor. I was given a personal patient ID swipe card, a little notebook and then had to pay $1. Among the many differences between a Chinese and American hospital, the ones I noticed the most was how many times money changes hands and how you pay for each step of the medical process separately. For example, the fee for me to actually sit down and talk with a doctor was only $1.
After this we went to another place to wait to see the doctor. Candy had told me to bring plenty of things to do as we might have to wait a long time. Luckily (or unluckily) I have 80 final exams to grade which are mostly short answer and essays which kept me busy during the wait. People were smoking in the waiting room and it was very crowded. Everyone was watching a big digital screen at the front of the room which showed you your name and number and how far you were in line. It was easy to watch for my name as it was all Chinese gibberish and then my name in big block letters "SARAH".
When I entered the "consultation room" there was absolutely no privacy. All of the other patients who were also waiting crowded in to see what was going on and to listen to what we were talking about. It was very strange, funny and incredibly intrusive but I guess in a country of a billion people it's hard to have privacy. The doctor spoke incredible English and was delighted to practice with me and asked me all sorts of questions, most of which seemed very unrelated to physical health but whatever. Then he had me step to the side in an adjacent but still highly visible room where I had to take everything off (no gowns or robes here) so he could do the physical. After he drew blood, took saliva samples and had me pee in a cup, he gave all of my "specimens" in little jars to me, open to the air, for me to take down to the lab by myself. I felt like I was in micro. lab all over again.
While navigating through crowds of people and 3 escalators, I managed not to spill anything and we made it to the third counter of the day where I paid $11 to have all of my samples analyzed. I literally handed all of them to one of the many technicians working on microscopes. After thirty minutes I received a printout of the results at which point we had to go back up to the 5th floor to see the doctor again for the interpretation. He claimed me to be pretty healthy, gave me some antibiotics and filled out some forms.
We went to the last counter where I handed over the prescription, paid $18 and received my medicine in less than 5 seconds. The whole system in this hospital works like a well-oiled machine. Without an appointment and just by showing up at 9 in the morning, I was out of there at 11:30. If you can handle: no privacy, extremely curious Chinese onlookers who will watch and listen to everything, smoke, questionable cleanliness, humoring doctors who want to practice their English and say things like "This is called a 'speculum', right?", carrying your own samples everywhere and medicine that can only be interpreted by your Chinese friends, then visiting a Chinese hospital is definitely the choice for you.
I love immediate payment for service. In the emergency room there is a big menu of emergency care procedures with prices. And, there are no lines at the hospital if you arrive in an ambulance!
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