The traditional diagnostic routine—observation, listening and slling, inquiry, and palpation—was completed. Ordinarily, this would be followed by a prescription for so dicine costing just a few tens of yuan, and the patient would be on their way after taking it.
But Western dicine was different from traditional Chinese dicine. It usually started with inquiries about the dical condition and the patient’s own reactions, followed by blood tests, B-scans, color Doppler ultrasounds, and other such examinations. These were two different dical systems. Western dicine relied on scientific instrunts for test results to determine the condition, which is why it incurred high testing fees.
Though their thods differed, both systems could achieve good results. But in terms of treatnt costs, Western dicine was clearly much more expensive.
"Go pay the fees. Co back for a follow-up consultation once the test results are out," Han Dongting said, noticing Qin Mu seed a bit distracted and reminding him again.
The corner of Qin Mu’s mouth twitched. But, figuring ’nothing ventured, nothing gained,’ he decided to bite the bullet. He went straight to the front desk and paid 230 yuan.
After an hour, he completed both tests. Finally, with the results in hand, he returned to Han Dongting’s respiratory dicine consultation room.
Han Dongting took the test results and studied them intently for a while. Then he said, "There’s no inflammation, just simple nasal congestion. I’ll prescribe so nasal decongestants for you." As he spoke, his penmanship was swift and flowing as he wrote down several drug nas.
Qin Mu: ...
Nasal congestion, my ass! He’d just diagnosed it as so kind of inflammation and tricked into doing two sets of tests, costing 230 yuan.
Yet, after seeing the test results, Han Dongting showed no sha at all. He didn’t seem to think his judgnt of the condition was problematic in the slightest.
RIP!
Han Dongting tore off the prescription slip, handed it to Qin Mu, and said, "Alright, take this to the pharmacy staff on the left and get your dicine."
Qin Mu looked at the prescription with its swift, flowing script in his hand and couldn’t help asking, "Get it right here in the hospital? Does the hospital have the dicine?"
His main purpose in coming this ti was to check out the situation with the hospital and the pharmacy. According to Su Yongnian, a box of dicine at *that* pharmacy sold for 288 yuan.
"What kind of question is that? Of course, the hospital has dicine," Han Dongting said, his face imdiately turning stern, a hint of displeasure in his voice.
Qin Mu gave a dry laugh. He had no choice but to take the prescription slip and go to the hospital’s internal pharmacy to get the dicine.
The two dicines Han Dongting prescribed weren’t expensive. The total cost was only a little over thirty yuan.
However, when he thought of the testing fees, Qin Mu couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.
These kinds of testing fees were still compliant and legal. According to the ’dical Law,’ registered hospitals had fees for various dical equipnt tests, and these were strictly regulated. Tests like CT scans cost between one and two hundred yuan. This hospital’s testing fees hadn’t exceeded the limits. Moreover, the hospital hadn’t forced him to do them; he had chosen them himself. The prices were clearly listed, and he had paid voluntarily. Even if the tests showed no problems, the hospital wouldn’t bear any responsibility.
But what surprised him was that Han Dongting actually hadn’t told him to go to that pharmacy outside to buy dicine.
Could it be... my illness is too minor? Qin Mu frowned.
Carrying the dicine for his stuffy nose, he walked out of the hospital. As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the pharmacy near the hospital entrance nad ’Wanantang.’
The pharmacy wasn’t large, only about a hundred square ters. Various types of dicine were displayed on its shelves. At the entrance, a large advertising board was placed, stating: "Wanantang Promotion: Top up 1,000 get 200 free, the more you top up, the more you get. Special mber prices, buy five get one free."
Even pharmacies are doing mbership promotions now, Qin Mu mused with a sigh.
He rembered that in ancient tis, the couplets at pharmacy entrances used to say, "May there be no illness in the world, and may our dicines gather dust on the shelves." But now, most pharmacy entrances advertised how much you’d save if you bought a certain amount of dicine, or they’d simply give away eggs... It was all uniformly aid at stimulating consumption, encouraging others to buy dicine.
This kind of promotion was quite normal in other industries. But for pharmacies to engage in such marketing... it seed extrely shaless. People bought dicine because they were afflicted by illness or pain. Yet pharmacies used these thods to encourage them to buy more. This was tantamount to hoping for more illness in the world, hoping for more suffering for others.
"What dicine are you looking to buy?" Inside the pharmacy, the owner, seeing Qin Mu standing at the entrance for so ti, couldn’t help but ask impatiently.
This owner was also a middle-aged man, about forty years old. He had a beard and wore a white coat, looking like a doctor as well.
"My nose is a bit stuffy. I’d like to buy so dicine," Qin Mu said, glancing at the owner as he walked into the store.
"Your nose is a bit stuffy?" The owner looked at Qin Mu with surprise. He then walked to a shelf in the corner and took out a box of dicine. "This is for nasal congestion. Ten yuan and eighty cents."
This cheap? Qin Mu was stunned, finding it sowhat unbelievable. Su Yongnian had spent nearly 1,200 yuan here just to treat a cold.
"If it’s just a stuffy nose, this will do. Of course, there are more expensive ones..." The owner cast a sidelong glance at Qin Mu, then walked to a more conspicuous display shelf. He casually pulled out a box of dicine. "This one works wonders for nasal congestion. Eighty-seven yuan a box."
Qin Mu: ...
The two boxes of dicine were about the sa size, but in terms of price, they were worlds apart. Just for a stuffy nose... there was dicine costing 87 yuan a box.
"I’ll look around myself first," Qin Mu said, declining the owner’s assistance. He then began to carefully observe the dicine shelves.
In this Wanantang pharmacy, the more expensive dicines were all placed in the most conspicuous positions.
User Comments
0 comments from readers