The current issue of Oriental Outlook (2009.05.28) contains a reader letter about extra tests required for a hospital stay:
Rules for a Hospital Stay
by Chen Duo / OO
My nephew had been coughing for days, and upon going to the hospital for a diagnosis, it was determined to be severe lung infection, treatable with a week’s saline drip. Another patient said that if someone needed a long-term IV, if they were part of the new rural cooperative medical insurance program, they’d do better to check into the hospital. In the inpatient department, you could get drips whenever you needed them and avoid the hassle of standing in line, and the environment would be cleaner, too. And once admitted you could take advantage of the medical insurance system’s favorable reimbursement policies on some drugs, which would amount to fairly significant savings.
My nephew thought this was a sensible idea, so the next day he filled out the paperwork to get admitted to the hospital. But when he paid and then looked at the bill, he noticed that the doctor had added a blood test, a urine test, and a stool test. This struck him as unusual: hadn’t he already been diagnosed with a lung infection? Had the doctor made a mistake? Immediately, he went back to ask, and received this explanation: “Anyone admitted to the hospital has to do those tests. These are the rules. The patient doesn’t have to do them himself — he can get someone else to do them. Or just wait until discharge day, and then take a look at how the patient’s recovery is going.”