China hospital experience
First-time poster here
I have pain in my tailbone area. It wasn't very severe. I have a typical high-deductible plan, and I know that if I go to my regular doctor, he'll recommend an X-ray—which would cost hundreds, if not over a thousand, dollars. So I decided to wait.
While traveling in China, I heard about the efficiency of Chinese hospitals. My pain got worse after sitting on a 16-hour flight. Booking an appointment was easy through the Weixin app, though you need to have the app while in China. I actually arrived an hour late for my appointment, but they didn't say anything and sent me to a "diagnosis room." The doctor was already waiting there.
After a two-minute conversation, he sent me for X-rays. He printed out a small piece of paper with a QR code on it and told me to go to the radiology department two floors down. I scanned the QR code on a machine outside the department. After 5–7 minutes, they called my name. They took two X-rays and sent me back.
When I returned to the room, the doctor was already looking at my X-rays. As I expected, nothing was wrong with the bone. The pain is due to inflammation of the membranes surrounding the bone, caused by poor sitting posture. The doctor gave me a few instructions on sitting position and a prescription cream to apply. I paid for the prescription right there in his office. He printed out another piece of paper with a QR code—this one also had the exact window in the pharmacy department where I should pick up the prescription. I picked it up in no time at all.
The whole process, from when I walked in the door to when I walked out, took about 30–35 minutes. The costs were:
Registration: ¥25.30
Diagnosis with x-ray: ¥64
Proscription: ¥48.87
Of course, I paid full market price as a foreigner without insurance. A lady offered me a discount, but I couldn't be bothered with the paperwork.