Private doctor traps patient, a "joke" that seems real

Reading the information in the article “Private doctor sets trap for 18 million surgery…” and the opinion of the examining doctor, I really feel sorry for the profession and for human nature.

As a private doctor for about 25 years now, initially semi-public and semi-private (after-hours clinic), then 100% private, I have encountered many similar cases. No matter how virtuous or talented you are, no matter how much you explain or persuade, you are still just a money-maker in the eyes of a large number of people, and also in the eyes of many managers. Many times I felt very upset, sometimes I refused outright. However, over time I got used to it. I often tell my staff that I am a service person, as long as I make customers trust and satisfy, that is success. In fact, we have succeeded with many people.

There are people who initially used very rude words or had obvious contemptuous behaviors, but gradually understood and changed their minds, becoming enthusiastic "fans" of ours. However, we cannot always keep calm, sometimes we are really shocked by the unreasonable reactions of our customers. Just 2 weeks ago, a fairly famous movie actress came to consult about the case of her family member, right at the time we were shocked by the attitude of a patient's family. The consequences of that affected what I said to the beautiful and famous actress, especially after she said that her family intended to take the patient for surgery in Thailand or Singapore. I said that we do not want to treat rich or famous people and that our place would not be suitable for her family. When I calmed down, I realized that I was a bit too unreasonable and wanted to apologize to her. Hereby, I sincerely apologize to that actress if she happens to read these lines.

When you counsel patients or their families, you cannot counsel everyone. At some point, someone will appear who is not interested in your explanations, and even just wants to show other family members that they care about the patient. They will start criticizing or twisting you. They will even say very harsh things and ask the family to take the patient to another place for treatment. In my experience, families who show off that they have a lot of money, families of some high-ranking officials, people who just met you and start showing off that they know this person and that person, some overseas Vietnamese who show off their arrogant attitude or show off that they have a lot of money are the people you need to pay special attention to.

Nowadays, when you consult a patient, some people have the habit of verifying your opinion with another doctor. And it must be admitted that the level of our doctors is not equal, some doctors want to "attract views" by using inappropriate words towards their colleagues, making the patient lose direction and doubt you. So the patient or family member is upset, the story is passed on to journalists. At this point, you will be at a disadvantage if you are a private doctor. Some journalists with poor ethics create sensational headlines, add salt and pepper to the story and you become a devil. I have been a victim of the above mentioned doctors and journalists, so I sympathize with the story about private doctors that we are talking about.

I once wrote an article about the public-private distinction and received quite a few conflicting opinions. In the past few days, attending the funeral of an outstanding teacher in the field of ENT, I met many people inside and outside the industry, both high and low-level. For those who already knew each other, there was no problem, but for many people, including some dignitaries in our medical industry, their attitudes changed completely when they learned that I was in the private sector. We still have to acknowledge the fact that the private sector is not highly valued in this society that still has a heavy subsidy mindset, and we also have to be alert to have the right policies for each different type of customer.

In addition, I would like to say a few words about the doctor's response. Even though the client and the journalist have seriously offended me, even though it has caused me great pain, I think that when bringing the issue to public, we should not offend them in return, because then we are no different from them. In addition, I think I will only talk about internal issues in the medical profession, most people outside the profession do not understand and they often think we are the same. Knowing that you have many frustrations, not just with this patient, the evidence is that all 4 of your children do not pursue a medical career despite being very good students, but that is not something we should confide in the person who offended us.

Even if you do not pursue medicine in the future, you will always be a doctor, a physician, and your medical career will always be a beautiful time that you will always remember and be proud of. Besides, it is not certain that when you move to another field, you will not encounter similar things.

According to health.vadoisong