MAN WENT TO PRIVATE HOSPITAL FOR COVID, DOCTOR TRIED TO “SELL” HIM $5K CT SCAN
By KanyeNorthApril 19, 2023
Private hospitals in Singapore trying to squeeze more money by scaring you ?
Yesterday I tested positive for Covid in a private hospital, they took some blood sample and advised to be admitted for drip ($1000) to prevent dehydration as my heart rate was high.
I requested just to do the blood test as i was doing fine.
Blood report came after few hours when i was already at home, got a call from doctor and he said the D-dimer (800) is a bit high and you should go for CT Scan that would cost around $5000.
Then I rushed to Changi general hospital (government) A&E department and consulted doctors, she analysed all reports and consulted senior doctor and advised there is nothing to worry and CT Scan is not required at the moment. She did ECG and Xray and asked me to monitor and discharged me and scheduled another appointment in a week.
Now I’m wondering if the private hospital was trying to make more money by adding saline drip and CT Scan which was not really required or the government hospitals are avoiding it as they have more patients to look into ?
PS: Apologies for any wrong medical terms used as I’m not from medical background
Netizens’ comments
- I work in healthcare. I can’t comment on your specific case but I think in general private hospitals and clinics do sometimes do things that aren’t really necessary to earn money.
On the flip side of the coin, public hospitals are so busy that sometimes they don’t do enough. My grandma was sent home with a stroke once, I brought her to (public) hospital again before she was admitted and the stroke was confirmed. So… Unfortunately things aren’t perfect anywhere, pick your poison - A private hospital is optimizing on your health (at the cost of more money). A public hospital is optimizing on time (at the cost of your health) as they generally have too many patients coming in. I think there is no black and white answer.
Saying that I went to private hospital for 2 weeks. They diagnosed me correctly for a very rare disease then suggested I go to big public hospital for treatment. I ended up in public hospital for one month. Both hospitals charged me $90k (lol). But I believe without private hospital careful diagnosis I may not be alive today. - Sometimes can only detect bad things at private where better facilities are there. Your priority should go for a second opinion, not bashing on how the first one charge you
