Practicing Medical Skills in a Small Clinic-Chapter 145 - 115: A Down-and-Out Uncle’s Hope, the Bane of Old Ladies and Old Men (Part 2)

Chapter 145: Chapter 115: A Down-and-Out Uncle’s Hope, the Bane of Old Ladies and Old Men (Part 2)

Can’t afford treatment at a big hospital, but you can’t just do nothing and wait to die at home, can you?

At this point, getting some medicine from a clinic doctor is much better than not taking any medicine at all.

Most terminal patients, after abandoning treatment at big hospitals, like to place their hope in traditional Chinese medicine.

No comment on that.

Sometimes traditional Chinese medicine can indeed perform medical miracles, allowing some patients who were given a death sentence by hospitals to survive, or even fully recover.

But the rate is very low, akin to winning the lottery.

In almost all big hospitals, including those integrating Chinese and Western medicine, doctors generally regard the role of Chinese medicine as very limited.

When they encounter difficult patients or terminal patients that cannot be cured, doctors will sometimes advise them to see a traditional Chinese doctor.

With those difficult patients who frequently complain, cause trouble, and are uncooperative, the medical staff advise them to see a Chinese medicine practitioner as a form of defensive medicine.

As for advising terminal patients to see a traditional Chinese doctor, one reason is the reasonable cost, and the other is a form of humanistic care.

Knowing that cancer has advanced to a late or even terminal stage, further chemotherapy or radiotherapy would only cause more pain to the patient and cost the family more money.

Ultimately, it doesn’t hold much meaning.

Seeing an experienced traditional Chinese doctor and taking some traditional medicine can provide a psychological comfort to some extent.

"I can prescribe some medicine for you, but to avoid future disputes, I need your signed consent before I can do so."

Li Jingsheng had been considering this issue for a while.

It’s fine to do good deeds, but you must also protect yourself.

If the patient ends up dying after taking the medicine he prescribed, and the family comes to make trouble or demands compensation, what then?

A small clinic like his could easily go under if the family placed a couple of funeral wreaths at the entrance and burned paper money.

As for lawsuits, he’s not too worried.

As long as there’s nothing wrong with the medicine prescribed, the likelihood of losing a lawsuit is very small.

But most family members prefer to resolve matters through force and are unlikely to reason with you.

"Signing won’t be a problem. How much will the medicine cost?"

The middle-aged man was clearly down on his luck, with not much money in his pockets, but unwilling to lose face.

The poorer someone is, the more prone they are to feelings of inferiority.

Afraid of being looked down upon.

Li Jingsheng naturally wouldn’t burst his bubble.

His small clinic could barely cover next year’s rent, and it wasn’t a charity hall, so the money due definitely needed to be collected.

As for a few days ago, he paid fifty yuan for a driver to send a scavenging old man to the second hospital for treatment because he felt the old man was particularly admirable and was willing to help out of his own pocket.

But letting compassion run rampant and treating patients for free just because they have no money wouldn’t work.

Even big hospitals don’t set such a precedent.

They receive financial appropriations and official funding support, yet still unwilling to do such things.

Much less a small clinic like his.

"The cost won’t be too high; the first round of medicine will be around three to four hundred yuan. Subsequent treatment will depend on changes in your condition, and we’ll discuss it then."

Li Jingsheng quoted a price.

"Are you sure it’s only four hundred yuan?"

The middle-aged man, upon hearing the quote, rarely showed a glimmer of hope in his eyes, staring intently at Li Jingsheng.

As if seeing a ray of hope in a desperate situation.

"Yes, I am sure."

Li Jingsheng nodded seriously.

"Alright then, prescribe the medicine for me!" After confirming, the middle-aged man started taking out money from his pocket.

Yesterday, when I saw him take out that stack of money, there was only one hundred-yuan note, the rest were small denominations.

Unexpectedly, today he pulled out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from the other pocket.

Packed in a small white plastic bag.

There’s probably at least seven or eight hundred yuan.

This middle-aged man sure is cautious, keeping his money separate, not putting all his eggs in one basket.

"Before prescribing the medicine, I need you to sign your consent."

Li Jingsheng quickly wrote an informed consent form, not much different from the ones used in hospitals. It’s all about avoiding unnecessary risks.

The middle-aged man took it, read it carefully, then signed his name.

Li Jingsheng asked him to take out his ID card to make a photocopy, and then got him to put his fingerprint on the signature line of both the ID copy and consent form.

At this point, the risk-avoidance procedures were completed.

He began carefully prescribing the medicine for the middle-aged man.

He had already examined him and diagnosed the cause of the illness yesterday. After a brief re-examination, he started prescribing based on the treatment for short bowel syndrome.

Given the symptoms of rectal bleeding, protecting the intestinal lining and stopping bleeding were very important.

Ferrous sulfate, 0.3 grams per tablet, a certain number of tablets prescribed.

Three times a day, orally.

Vitamin C, 0.1 grams per tablet, also a certain number of tablets prescribed. Three times a day, orally.

Complex vitamin B and folic acid were also prescribed according to strict dosage.

Considering the patient’s symptoms of diarrhea, after consideration, he prescribed compound diphenoxylate.

Naturally, loperamide, commonly known as Imodium, could also be used, but given the severity and state of the middle-aged man’s diarrhea, Li Jingsheng chose compound diphenoxylate.

...

After prescribing, he instructed the patient to eat a low-fat, lactose-free diet.

Simply put, eat more lightly, with less oil and sugar, etc. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He also instructed the patient to seek medical attention promptly or go to a big hospital if feeling unwell.

The total cost to the patient was 352 yuan.

The middle-aged man contentedly took his medicine and left.

Watching the man’s departing figure, Li Jingsheng also held a sliver of hope in his heart. He hoped that the prescribed medicines would be effective in helping the man through his hard times.