If you don´t have access to International Healthcare and you decide or have to use local hospitals´services, here are some guidelines on what to do. We strongly recommend to do some research first on where to go and which doctor to see as quality, service and reliability will vary depending on many factors.

Also to be said, many local doctors practicing at international healthcare facilities do have clinical hours and consultation times in good local hospitals. Many of these doctors are internationally trained and are by far more experienced than some others in international facilities. You make the calls.

It is a simple process but queues, long-waiting times and communication problems might add up to discouraging you and end up never going again.

Here are the guidelines:

  1. Once you enter the hospital, you must go the the reception counter to get a piece of paper with a number on it. They will also ask you what is wrong so that they can give you the numbered piece of paper that sends you to the right department.
  2. After that, you take your piece of paper and stand in line by the registration counter (it is written in English), when it’s your turn, you hand them your ID/passport and then they do some paper work and charge you some administration fee (around RMB 20). You are then handed a wad of papers and a plastic card and told to go to the department to see a doctor. Don’t loose these papers or card because they state that you have paid the administration fee and have gone through the previous processes.
  3. You find the right department and wait in line to see the doctor where they do their thing and diagnose you and send you off with some additional papers.
  4. You must then take these papers to the Payment counter and wait in line to pay. They will then stamp some of the papers to show that you have paid for the medicine and send you on your way.
  5. Armed with these stamped papers you should then proceed to the medicine counter to pick up your medicine. Please note that there are western medicine and Chinese medicine counters. So you must go to the right one to pick up your medicine.
  6. After all this, you can finally go home and rest.

 

It’s kind of frustrating to run around and go to the various places, but if you know the system, it’s a tiny bit less hectic. You can always try asking someone where you should go.

 

Be aware of the fact that local hospitals´ doctors tend to prescribe too many drugs and sometimes it might not even be strictly necessary. That is your call again. If you have a chance, always ask for a second opinion if your case is a complicated one or if you don´t feel 100% confident with your practitioner.

Even though local hospitals offer western medicine, standards and quality are not up to international standards in most of the cases. Be careful and proactive and don´t hesitate in asking questions if you have your doubts.

Everything said, this is not a discouraging call but an wake up call for you to be proactive, responsible and take your health seriously by doing some research before trusting any practitioner or facility either international or local.