Chapter 29: Hospitals Should Not Be Profit-Making Institutions
As they walked, Wang Zhi said a lot of things to Qian Senhu on the way, and Qian Senhu was seriously taking note. Unconsciously, the two of them arrived at the department door, and it was already off-duty hours. Neither of them were on duty that night. Qian Senhu looked at his watch and saw that it was almost six o'clock, so he smiled and said to Wang Zhi: "Master, it's time for dinner. I'll treat you today, and there are some things I'd like to discuss with you."
"Alright." Wang Zhi had originally intended to refuse, but seeing Qian Senhu's meaningful expression, he nodded in the end.
Wang Zhi and Qian Senhu walked out of the hospital and chose a medium-sized home-cooked restaurant. Originally, Wang Zhi was going to eat in the hall, but Qian Senhu insisted on having a private room. Wang Zhi looked at Qian Senhu's expression and behavior, guessing that this kid must have something to say.
After they sat down and ordered food, Qian Senhu asked for a bottle of white wine and formally gave Wang Zhi a cup of wine, which was considered as officially becoming his apprentice.
Qian Senhu sat back in his seat, looking at Wang Zhi's young face, hesitated for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Master, do you know that you have caused dissatisfaction among many people during this period of time?"
"What did you say?" Wang Zhi didn't show any surprise, but just smiled slightly and asked calmly.
"Master, let me put it this way. Since you came to the TCM department, although you've cured many patients and increased the popularity of the department, your approach to healing is pragmatic, but it's also blocked the financial interests of many people." Qian Senhu took a light sip of wine and spoke slowly: "Actually, when I first arrived at the hospital, I wasn't assigned to the TCM department. Although I studied TCM, because the TCM department was in poor condition, my family pulled some strings and got me into the Western medicine oncology department."
On the first day of work, I put on a white coat and went on rounds with the director. After a morning of rounds, there were more than 40 cancer patients, each with different conditions, but all listened to us attentively.
The next day, I saw a terminal liver cancer patient. Looking at his imaging results, the cancer cells had metastasized throughout his body and there was no treatment value left. Moreover, judging from the old man's clothes, his family wasn't well off, so it wasn't necessary to waste money. With good intentions, I called the old man's daughter into my office and suggested she give up on treatment. The old man's daughter burst into loud sobs and took her father away in sorrow. Unexpectedly, a week later, I discovered that the old man had actually been hospitalized! The head nurse told me that after returning home, the old man was unwilling to "wait for death", sold his house for 300,000 yuan, and even sought treatment from an oncology expert, who immediately admitted him to the hospital. The head nurse also quietly told me: the old man said in the ward that I had poor medical ethics, didn't have the skills to treat his illness, so let him go home and wait for death!
At the end of the year, when our oncology department was distributing bonuses, each person got over 2,000 yuan on average! The director closed the door and held a secret meeting with us: "Our hospital implements performance-based evaluation, and the bonus for each department is calculated by subtracting costs from revenue and then multiplying it by a percentage. He paused intentionally and said, "Do I need to explain more? You can use cheap drugs that cost just a few yuan, that's your freedom, but you can't pretend to be a Bodhisattva and let everyone else suffer with you." As soon as the director finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to me, and my face immediately felt scorching hot...
It wasn't long after that a retired cadre with prostate cancer moved into the ward, and the cancer had already metastasized to his abdominal cavity. Having learned from previous experiences, I tentatively approached his wife for a conversation: "I suggest using relatively better medication, as this can improve the patient's quality of life..." Before I even finished speaking, his wife nodded enthusiastically: "Whatever medicine is good, we'll use it! I'm willing to spend money on our family's old Zhang!" With that, I let loose and used whatever expensive medications were available. In the end, the elderly man stayed in the ward for two months, spending a total of 400,000 yuan before ultimately passing away.
I have a guilty conscience and feel ashamed in front of the elderly. What makes me cry and laugh at the same time is that after the family members finished the funeral, they specially sent me a silk banner saying I treated the patient like a family member and made great efforts to improve the quality of life for terminal cancer patients."
"What else?" Wang Zhi asked calmly after listening to Qian Senhu's words.
"Heh heh, Master, do you know what the biggest function of the Chinese medicine department in the hospital is?" Hearing Wang Zhi's question, Qian Senhu smiled wryly and took a sip of wine before asking back.
"What is it?" Wang Zhi asked in coordination.
"It's actually just a place where they collect patients who have been treated by various departments and are waiting to die, squeezing out the last bit of value. I still remember an older surgeon saying to me with deep meaning, 'You're a new graduate, do you understand the workflow of the oncology department?' Simply put, it's like this: a cancer patient comes in, first they're sent to surgery to make money from the operation, then they're transferred to the chemotherapy department for chemo, and then again to the radiation therapy department for radiation. After all these departments have made their money, the patient is finally dumped into the traditional Chinese medicine department to drink herbal medicine."
The next thing that finally verified the surgeon's words was a patient with late-stage gastric cancer, whose cancer cells had already metastasized to the abdominal cavity. However, he was still transferred to general surgery for an operation, and after the operation, he was transferred to oncology for chemotherapy, radiation therapy in the radiation department, and traditional Chinese medicine in the TCM department. After three months of such torture, the patient died. I once secretly accessed the patient's imaging data and found that there were no surgical indications at all.
Qian Senhu said with a hint of sadness: "Since childhood, I have always thought that doctors are the angels in white who save patients from suffering, selflessly and fearlessly. So I dreamed of becoming one of them. But when I finally put on that sacred uniform, I realized that everything was just my imagination."
"Haha." After listening to Qian Senhu's words, Wang Zhi also smiled wryly and said: "In this world, wherever you go, there is selfishness and darkness. The key is whether you will follow the trend or not."
"Yes, actually later on I also slowly fell, but after all still young, the hot blood in my heart is still there, finally because of guilt and couldn't bear to continue, so offended a lot of people, and was sent to the traditional Chinese medicine department." Qian Senhu poured another full cup of wine.
"To be able to stick to one's own mind, this is good." Wang Zhi nodded and said.
"But you're living in a world where most people have fallen, and if you insist on being different, others will resent you," Qian Senhu sighed. "Take Master for example, your medical skills are superb, and you've cured many patients, even some with serious illnesses. However, the medicine you prescribe is always the cheapest, and your fees are the lowest. As a result, some Western medicine department patients have been drawn to you, and those who lost patients and income will naturally hate you to the bone. If it weren't for your good relationship with Director Zhang and Professor Zhou, you might have already been driven out of the hospital."
"Ah ha!" Wang Zhi sneered, "This is the hospital, these are the doctors who save lives and treat injuries, but in reality they're just a group of profit-driven businessmen. Hospitals shouldn't be profit-making institutions." To be honest, although Wang Zhi had already seen his fair share of darkness, Qian Senhu's words still ignited a spark of anger in his heart.
