A Story of Being Overcharged When Seeing a Doctor

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A few days ago, I experienced stomach discomfort, so I went to a local tertiary hospital to see a doctor. I made an appointment with an expert. I described my symptoms as sharp pain in the stomach when I was full; there is no pain at other times. Without hesitation, the expert issued the examination form: ultrasound costing 305 yuan ； ECG: 36 yuan ； For the gastroscopy examination, 192 was charged; there wasn’t much money left. Unwilling to give up, I asked an expert: Is it possible to use an ultrasound instead of a color Doppler ultrasound? Do I need an ECG as well as a stomach examination? Expert’s reply: The ultrasound image is not clear; an ultrasound with color Doppler will be necessary later ； An ECG is performed to rule out coronary heart disease; if one has coronary heart disease, a gastroscopy cannot be done. Still not giving up, they asked again: First of all, thank the expert for saving us the cost of an ultrasound examination. If a heart disease is detected, will the money spent on the gastroscopy be refunded? The expert became a bit impatient: the money spent on the gastroscopy for coronary heart disease needs to be refunded; ordering them together is to avoid having you wait in line repeatedly. Thank you, experts, for helping my province save money and also saving me time; you are truly angels in white! It cost over 500 in examination fees; it was a painful process that took a long time, and the medicine prescribed cost over 200. Diagnosis: Reflux gastritis. Go to a pharmacy and ask; medications costing a little over 20 can cure this condition. As expected of a top-tier hospital, there are so many experts!