Sixth day.
Beijing.
Hospital.
Xie Wei woke up before dawn. Living in the hospital’s single dormitory, he hurriedly ate breakfast in the cafeteria before heading to the small conference room in the administrative building. The faintly lit hospital was already starting to buzz with activity.
"Dr. Xie, good morning."
"Morning."
"Dr. Xie, would you like so stead buns?"
"I just ate, thank you."
"Dr. Xie, good luck today."
"Thanks."
"..."
On the way, several nurses greeted him warmly. His decent looks, doctorate in dicine, and approachable personality gave Xie Wei a good reputation in the hospital. The only drawback seed to be his modest family background.
"Dr. Zhan, you’re here too?"
At the entrance of the administrative building.
Xie Wei ran into Dr. Zhan Xi, who used to be the hospital’s belle. He hadn’t been there long but had heard that she had many admirers before, none of whom managed to win her over. Now she was married with a child.
He didn’t know who her husband was.
But he was certain the man had a strong background.
"Yes, I’m here for so team learning." ’Dr. Zhan,’ formally known as Zhan Xi, didn’t particpate in this training. She had a young child at ho who needed her, a one-year-old who was especially clingy.
She was a neurosurgery Ph.D.
Years of rigorous study.
And she’d been equally stunned by the operating room’s capabilities.
Fast.
Accurate.
Safe.
The machinery possessed an unparalleled precision. No trembling hands, and those nearly 360-degree chanical tentacles offered countless possibilities beyond the reach of a surgeon’s scalpel.
Coupled with big data.
Precise analysis.
Even the incision size could be minimized to an astonishing degree. Instead of making a large cut that resulted in complicated post-op recovery and stitching, they managed to keep the incision to around one centiter.
One centiter!
Terrifying.
And this was brain surgery.
Sothing unimaginable previously.
Thus.
Her love for learning led her to join the team, willingly taking the role of a student. Big data dical advancents were an unstoppable future trend. If she couldn’t block it, she might as well integrate into it.
The two proceeded to the office.
Before long.
Nearly two hundred attendees were seated.
The hospital director began speaking.
"Today’s morning eting will focus on dical safety and equipnt operation protocols. I don’t need to stress this point; everyone knows how expensive these devices are. Any equipnt malfunction would disrupt the hospital’s treatnt schedules."
"Since today is the first formal day, a CCTV journalist team will co for interviews. As for who they’ll interview, that hasn’t been decided yet. But as you all know from experience, the interview guidelines are simple: speak carefully and avoid unnecessary details."
"..."
Soon.
The morning eting concluded.
Everyone returned to their positions.
Zhan Xi joined the dical operating room group.
As an observing expert.
Xie Wei headed to his own office, sitting by his table, which reminded him of the clinic room he’d worked in at Langyu County in Myanmar. The size was similar, as were the wall coatings and equipnt.
Table.
High-definition monitor.
A water dispenser.
Three chairs.
Extrely simple.
Office work had beco paperless. Xie Wei pulled out his Doctor Card and inserted it into the table slot. With a beep, the table displayed the Myanmar dical Group’s logo.
Below the logo.
The Huaxia Ministry of Health insignia appeared.
Account login.
The monitor on the wall lit up as well.
Since he had completed his diagnostic scheduling in the past few days, he saw the list of patients assigned to his clinic room. There were simply too many. His task for that morning was to attend to the first fifty patients.
All of them were in late-stage cancer.
From the elderly to children.
Taking a deep breath.
Xie Wei clicked on "Start Consultation," and after three minutes, the display strip above the door to his clinic showed red font: "Patient 3189, please enter Consultation Room 1."
Xie Wei straightened up.
This was the appointnt number.
Not the queue number.
It ant the patient was the 3189th person to book an appointnt but had been prioritized due to the late-stage severity.
One.
Two.
Three.
...
Xie Wei quickly got into the groove, and the details of each case were now second nature to him. For each of these severe patients, cancer cells had spread extensively, necessitating surgery-assisted treatnt.
Patient six.
"Doctor, um, how much will it cost?" the patient asked cautiously.
"For your condition, around ninety-three thousand," Xie Wei answered.
"That expensive?"
"Isn’t it just a few thousand?" the patient’s eldest son questioned.
"No, for early- and mid-stage cases, a few thousand suffices. But yours is late-stage, with severe cancer cell spread, not just one cancer; plus, with an elderly patient’s weaker immunity, the drug dosage increases significantly."
Xie Wei patiently explained.
"I see." The eldest son nodded.
One cancer might cost a few thousand.
Two combined.
Ten thousand-plus wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
He asked again, "Will hospitalization be necessary?"
Xie Wei shook his head.
"No, the surgery will be done directly—a minimally invasive procedure. Afterward, observe the patient for two hours. If there are no issues, they can leave. But keep in mind: avoid inappropriate eating habits, discontinue all previous dications."
"Get plenty of rest, avoid physical exertion, and follow the prescribed regin. Then, have daily drug injections for about a month and a half. Anything else?"
"About the paynt... could we pay later?" the eldest son asked, embarrassed.
Xie Wei smiled.
"Yes, as the news ntioned, treatnt cos first, and paynt later. If you can’t afford it, it will automatically convert into a dical loan, which you can repay gradually. But I recomnd paying on ti; otherwise, there could be repercussions."
"What kind of repercussions?"
"..."
Xie Wei hesitated.
He ntally noted this: patients should be inford of such details earlier; otherwise, unnecessary ti could be wasted in explanations.
"For instance, if you need loans for buying a house, starting a business, purchasing a ho for your children, or applying as a civil servant, all of these could be affected. It reflects the credit status of both an individual and a family."
Upon hearing this.
The group felt an imdiate sense of pressure.
It even affects their children.
So, defaulting really wasn’t an option.
"Thank you, doctor."
Watching the family help the elderly patient out, Xie Wei clicked on the next appointnt and jotted down a note in his ledger: "dical cost education." He paused and added: "Treatnt thod education."
Afterward.
Xie Wei continued to receive one patient after another.
He noticed that about a third of patients and their families asked about dical expenses. It seed improving efficiency through addressing this aspect could yield significant results. By 11 a.m., a nurse ca trotting over.
"Dr. Xie, please get ready; the journalists are here."
"Ready for what?"
"Director Liu said to continue consulting with patients as usual. They just want footage for background coverage."
"Got it."
Xie Wei wasn’t nervous; it wasn’t like anyone important was coming. A re interview. Besides, CCTV reporters weren’t entertainnt reporters; they wouldn’t ask silly, irrelevant questions. A formal response was enough.
After a few minutes.
Xie Wei spotted the journalist team at the entrance.
Seeing them.
He paused for a mont.
And then smiled.
It turned out to be soone he knew.
"Go ahead, start filming," said the female journalist with a smile.
"Alright."
Xie Wei refocused, concentrating on receiving the patient. The journalist’s presence made the patient a bit self-conscious. Being on TV for the first ti was nerve-wracking, but, after hearing the dical advice, the patient took their paperwork and promptly left.
Next.
They fild five more video segnts.
Finally, the female journalist stepped forward.
"Long ti no see, old classmate."
"Exactly, it’s been half a year, hasn’t it?" Xie Wei laughed.
The female journalist said, "I know you’re busy. Let’s catch up when you have ti. For now, we’ll proceed with the interview—just ten minutes."
"Alright."
User Comments
0 comments from readers