In China, there are doctors with their own practices in rural areas. In the city, all Chinese go to the hospital when they see a doctor - even with harmless illnesses. When a young Chinese says that he has only been in the hospital six times in his life, that sounds frightening to a German - "Six times??? Have you been that sick before?" - the German associates serious things with hospitals. In reality, this young person has only had six stubborn colds in his life. In the Chinese hospital you will find general practitioners and specialists under one roof. If the general practitioner cannot help further, he sends the patient to the specialists. They examine you immediately, without waiting weeks or months, even if it involves more complex procedures such as a CT scan or gastroscopy. The pharmacy is also right in the building, but not as a privately run company, there are several counters where you can pick up the medicines that the doctor has prescribed. This saves the patient running. There are also western clinics in Shanghai for expads who are afraid of the Chinese hospitals. The language barrier does the rest, because for a westerner without knowledge of Chinese it is definitely impossible to find your way around without help. Chinese rarely speak English. Western hospitals have English-speaking doctors, communication is smooth, and these clinics are brimming with service and more like a hotel. You get single rooms, you can choose your food from a Western menu, the bathroom is marble tiled, etc. This service comes at a very high price and feels like you've landed in a Hollywood cosmetic surgery clinic. You should definitely clarify beforehand whether the costs will be covered by health insurance.
At least a good view
Actually, it would be good to go to a Chinese hospital because it's cheaper and I'm here to get to know the country and its people, which works much better in a Chinese clinic. The Expad Clinics lead an existence in some parallel world to Chinese society. The doctors in the Chinese hospitals are good, but even in the western clinics there are almost only Chinese doctors. The difference is that the doctors in the western hospital speak fairly impeccable English. I decided to do this precisely because I didn't want to be dependent on the help of my colleagues. First they would have had to stop working to accompany me, which would have already lost two workers, and second, as a Westerner, it is difficult for me to talk about my state of health or my illnesses with others who are not close to me. This idea of privacy is European, perhaps it has something to do with Western culture, with the exaltation of the individual. In contrast, the Chinese concept of society focuses on the community. The contrast between the individual and the community seems to me to be one of the greatest differences between the two cultures. And for both sides, the other is difficult to understand. In Germany, privacy is even protected by law in the event of illness, you do not have to tell the employer the reason for reporting sick. I don't know the legal situation in China, but I have the impression that people would like to know what is missing. This is not just curiosity as an end in itself, but it has positive sides, because the Chinese support and help and consider this help to be completely self-evident. Despite the good intentions, this is a cultural difference that I find difficult to overcome. I suspect that many Europeans, at least Germans, would feel the same way, although many also lament the loss of community.
The following story shows the advantages that community can have: As a child, my Chinese friend lived on one of the usual residential streets in Shanghai, where everyone knew everyone, life took place on the street, where the children did their homework together outside and every neighbor had a nominal -Aunt or a nominal uncle was where the doors to the houses were open in winter as in summer and private and public somehow merged. It was in this very environment that my friend, when he was a little boy, had an accident that almost took his life because he almost bled to death. This accident became a top priority in the neighborhood and the family showed great willingness to help. Everyone helped where they could, brought the boy food when he came back from the hospital, which according to traditional Chinese medicine stimulates blood formation so that the child will soon be healthy again, relieved the mother of the work, etc. Perhaps the social structure in China will take on the part that we Germans consider important in a trusting doctor-patient relationship. In the Chinese health care system, there is no trusting relationship between patient and doctor, since one goes to the doctor, i.e. to the hospital, much less often. The disease is viewed more objectively here, which does not mean that the person is not considered as a whole. But perhaps this objectification has advantages. In Germany, the doctor becomes a confidant for some older people, who they often go to, also to overcome loneliness. The cost of my treatment was so high that in normal times without Corona I could pay for about six to seven flights between Germany and China. That doesn't say much, but perhaps the comparison that this treatment cost several times what I would have paid in Germany. Such prices can also be negotiated, and not just by decimal places. But you have to have that first. Absurd. I would have loved to have flown to Germany during the spring break, also to visit the doctor and just to see my friends again, but Corona still has the world firmly in its grip and once you leave China, it is very difficult to come back in.
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