A Doc's Life is a underground Medical Blog about some poor Singapore doctors. They are sibei sian and very buay song. Best practices not observed!
(Warning: Grammar is non existent in this blog. Those obsessively compulsive about good English please go no further and book an appointment to see your psychiatrist in Singapore.)

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Whoa Gold Medal!

08:45hrs - Came early to the clinic, patient is early too! Woohoo

09:00hrs - Seeing second patient.

09:10hrs - Done with second patient. Tried loading OKTO on PC. Cannot! Simi update to latest web browser???????

09:12hrs - Heng can watch on handphone! Just starting...

09:14hrs - Lun lun lun.... Ai yar liao

Some milliseconds before 09:15hrs - GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whatsapp whatsapp whatsapp

09:16hrs - Wipe off tears. Compose self. "Next patient!"

Congratulations Joseph Schooling! You have done us proud! 

Friday, August 12, 2016

The High Cost of Living (Actually Staying Healthy)?

Recently, a patient got dulan (henceforth DL) when his doctor billed her for two illnesses at the same setting instead of one consult. The case of the angry patient caught the attention of a reporter who seems perpetually DL with doctors. She then managed to get MOH and many doctors DL when she wrote that:

"The Ministry of Health (MOH) said there is nothing wrong with the way Dr Wee charges." 

MOH wrote back that they never say "nothing wrong" so don't anyhow say hor. Wait, MOH didn't really say that. They said this. SO PLEASE DON"T DL ME CAN?

Moral of the story? Singapore everyone also DL?

This issue of rising medical cost is of course a real issue. Dr Og and family also get sick and sometimes going to see real doctors can be sibei heart pain, so I can liao kai when you see a doctor you want to get the most out of it. Come for flu, also better get stomach checked coz like abit pain pain liddat. Wait, better also check the heart, coz later see bill confirm heart pain.

But from the other perspective, life also not easy for doctors la. In public hospital when your department lose money, your CEO start looking at the HOD eyes big big. In public still can hide here, siam there. After all is ah gong footing the bill.

In private, its your own problemo liao. Who call you hiao, want to go to the dark side tio boh? Got one day, a private specialist complain to me. He say someone complain he overcharge and never follow the price guidelines provided by SMA. Wah, the guidelines are so ancient Dr Og also almost forget liao (actually Dr Og never received the guidelines coz I always default membership payment for SMA until they DL me hahahaha).

But hor, if you do a simple google search, some jokers still putting up the price guideline online! Even as recent as June 2016. See this and this! For your info, the price guideline was found to be contravening competition law. Its all too cheem for Dr Og to explain so please read yourself la.

So what does this all mean? It means that since 2007 after they withdrew this price guideline, it has not been updated. Should doctors follow a 2007 price guide? I don't know about you but the bak chor mee I always eat was at most $3.50 in 2007. Last month, the owner just raised the price to $6.00. I don't blame him given how inflation has been in Singapore.

As for my private specialist friend, it turns out that the price he charged was within the range of the price guideline. The complainant obviously didn't bother to do his homework properly. When the specialist found out he told me, "wah, I'm charging 2007 rates ar?"

He so DL he decided to raise his charges.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

National Day Parade 2016

Wah, time flies. SG50 came and go and we have celebrated yet another NDP., SG51 liao A new citizen recently asked me excitedly if I would be going to the national stadium to support the NDP. I can understand that having just obtained his red i/c, he was excited about NDP, but having watched the same routine every year for as far as I can remember, Dr Og was just not going to get all gaga about it.

The last time Dr Og actually went to a NDP was many many (many x many)  years ago. We were providing medical coverage and even simulated the worse case scenario of carrying an injured VVIP on a stretcher from the VVIP box down the stadium steps to the evacuation point. At the end of the day, the exercise proved to be futile as the NDP that year (like every year) was uneventful.

The only injuries incurred where likely the ones sustained by the poor medics who had to carry the 0.1 ton kilo medical officer (simulating the heaviest VVIP there possibly could be) on the stretcher. Trust me it was hard and dangerous work! I'm sure some of the medics can still feel the stretcher slipping out of their hands and the aches and pains sustained that day every year when they watch the NDP.

Yesterday's NDP took place at the new stadium and Dr Og heard that now stadium got to pay alot of money then can use. This is also same like hospitals, programs upgrade liao, patient gotta pay extra. Patients always complain, why need to pay more? Come on leh, you get new stadium, sibei solid new grass for the soccer pitch and stadium roof can open and shut like Transformer, of course pay more right? Same thing mah, new program, new admin staff (sorry always no chiobu one, if you need to know), protocols so complicated that reads like the inner circuitry of  a Transformer, so pay more lor... Even though the end results to end users still the same end of the day, the stadium seat still looks hard and uncomfortable like before...

Sadly, Dr Og missed most of the NDP yesterday and cannot give you a good review of it. I was celebrating NDP by wearing red and white, walking along the streets and throwing red and white pokeballs at virtual monsters. I'm sure Niantic like very pro Singapore gahmen and launch Pokemon Go over national day weekend for all to celebrate!

Also, actually Dr Og hasn't gotten over the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder of falling over the stretcher from on top the stadium steps that faithful day!!!!!! Darn, those medics!!!!