Weird Health/Medical Policies
-
This is what one patient told me when he visited recently
at the grounds of TTSH
The brain scan that he requested costs (after bargaining) $660/-
If he is referred there by a Poly Clinic, the cost is $120.00
If you are a multimillionaire and drives a Merc to the poly clinic and get the doctor to refer you, it is $120/-
If you walk in yourself or referred there by a private clinic it is (in his case) $660 even if you are earning $1000 a month.
Does anyone know why it is like that, the rationale behind it?
I just want to inform the people here the situation, in case you want to get subsidies but have no idea how the weird policies work.
-
go polyclinic lor....
Well i can only think that they want the public not to crowd the hospital...rather the polyclinic are there to filter the general cases while referred cases that need specialist....to hospital.
-
Originally posted by AndrewPKYap:
This is what one patient told me when he visited recently
at the grounds of TTSH
The brain scan that he requested costs (after bargaining) $660/-
If he is referred there by a Poly Clinic, the cost is $120.00
If you are a multimillionaire and drives a Merc to the poly clinic and get the doctor to refer you, it is $120/-
If you walk in yourself or referred there by a private clinic it is (in his case) $660 even if you are earning $1000 a month.
Does anyone know why it is like that, the rationale behind it?
I just want to inform the people here the situation, in case you want to get subsidies but have no idea how the weird policies work.
The specialist clinics at the government hospitals are very busy and hence it will discourage anyone to simply walk in and demand to be seen by the specialists.
So, the polyclinic is used to assess and filter whether the patient is really in need of specialist's care.
However, the system is not perfect. Currently, subsidized patients need to wait at least 3-4 months and for some it can be as long as 9 months before they get to see the specialists even if they got the referral letter from the polyclinic.
Patients without subsidy ie pay full fee as private patients can usually get to see the specialists on the same day or within a week.
It is also ironical that the more senior doctors will spend more of their time to see the private patients instead of subsidized patients.
Similarly, a subsidised patient who needs a surgery will be operated by a surgeon who has just completed the specialist training while a private or full-fee paying patient will get the very experienced and senior surgeon or even the head surgeon to do the surgery.
It is so ironical that the doctors get their experience on subsidised patients but when the doctors become experienced, these senior doctors and surgeons will spend most of their time treating private or full-fee paying patients.
-
so which is better rationing health care ? or competitive health care?
-
Originally posted by Angel7030a:
The specialist clinics at the government hospitals are very busy and hence it will discourage anyone to simply walk in and demand to be seen by the specialists.
So, the polyclinic is used to assess and filter whether the patient is really in need of specialist's care.
However, the system is not perfect. Currently, subsidized patients need to wait at least 3-4 months and for some it can be as long as 9 months before they get to see the specialists even if they got the referral letter from the polyclinic.
Patients without subsidy ie pay full fee as private patients can usually get to see the specialists on the same day or within a week.
It is also ironical that the more senior doctors will spend more of their time to see the private patients instead of subsidized patients.
Similarly, a subsidised patient who needs a surgery will be operated by a surgeon who has just completed the specialist training while a private or full-fee paying patient will get the very experienced and senior surgeon or even the head surgeon to do the surgery.
It is so ironical that the doctors get their experience on subsidised patients but when the doctors become experienced, these senior doctors and surgeons will spend most of their time treating private or full-fee paying patients.
This case is not about seeing specialists. It is about doing a brain scan with a machine that took I think 20min max.
If you see a private doctor and he orders a brain scan, it costs (in this case) $660
If you see a polyclinic doctor and he orders the same brain scan, it costs $120
-
Originally posted by AndrewPKYap:
This case is not about seeing specialists. It is about doing a brain scan with a machine that took I think 20min max.
If you see a private doctor and he orders a brain scan, it costs (in this case) $660
If you see a polyclinic doctor and he orders the same brain scan, it costs $120
A MRI machine is very costly and hence the hospital will try to make full use of it.
A private doctor who orders a brain scan will be treated as a private or full-fee paying patient and hence it will be charged at full cost plus a margin.
A polyclinic doctor who orders a brain scan will be treated as a subsidized patient and hence it will be charged about 50% below cost.
The disparity in charges is to ensure that the private doctors do not send the patient frivolously for a brain scan or the private doctor sends the patient for the scan upon the patient's insistent of the scan, though the medical condition may or may not warrant it.
While the polyclinic doctor will only send the subsidised patients for the scan only when it is medically necessary to have the scan.
-
Originally posted by Arapahoe:
so which is better rationing health care ? or competitive health care?
http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html
Well considering the highest ranking health care systems in the world seems to be rationing health care... -
Now hospital very clever
any medical condition..
they also sent u for various of scan
....
-
Originally posted by noahnoah:
Now hospital very clever
any medical condition..
they also sent u for various of scan
....
Think of it in another sense, could the hospital afford the law suits if their doctors missed anything? -
Originally posted by Stevenson101:
Think of it in another sense, could the hospital afford the law suits if their doctors missed anything?
can u imagine u being sent for somestupid MRI scan that cost 600
ended up they called u
can go for another scan
because the maching fail to captured it..
-
Originally posted by noahnoah:
can u imagine u being sent for somestupid MRI scan that cost 600
ended up they called u
can go for another scan
because the maching fail to captured it..
But the main issue i would be concerned about is how often does it happen?
Did it happen because they geninuely didn't capture it or it was performed for the malice intention of getting you to pay for it again?
I'm pretty willing to accept that the MRI isn't a 100% thing but it's quite another if i have to keep doing it repeatedly for no apparent reasons.
Considering the lengthy period to wait for an MRI scan, i don't think it is the latter that is the problem. If the intention is to milk as much money out of it, it makes more sense by buying more of it to cut down on the waiting time.
-
I once pretended to be a rich person . I bluffed the doctor that i am staying in oxley rd.
-
not so simple la...if u polyclinic refer firstly u cannot choose ur specialist....whoever free tat day will attend to u...2ndly u want do test like mri, brain scan etc...u must q long long, 3rdly from poly to see the specialist waiting time is like months...if u serious illness die liao woh.......if u walk in as private patient is diff...u can choose ur specialist and u want do test...they let u do immediate like 1 or 2 days only to way......if u want appt also immediate...
-
Originally posted by maxsee:
not so simple la...if u polyclinic refer firstly u cannot choose ur specialist....whoever free tat day will attend to u...2ndly u want do test like mri, brain scan etc...u must q long long, 3rdly from poly to see the specialist waiting time is like months...if u serious illness die liao woh.......if u walk in as private patient is diff...u can choose ur specialist and u want do test...they let u do immediate like 1 or 2 days only to way......if u want appt also immediate...
no. if you have a referral letter from polyclinic, you wont be seeing a fully fletched specialist. you will be seeing a registrar, a advanced trainee specialist in training. I went to CGH with a referral letter from polyclinic, the doctor I saw was not a specialist. he is a registrar nia.
for your info, there are 3 kinds of specialist. associate consultant, consultant and senior consultant.