GP badder than flu
You know what's worse than having a 5 day flu + fever? Having a bad GP whose only interest is making a profit out of the sick.
Had fever, runny nose and a bad cough (sore throat too). I tried Healthline GP (Ms. Foo) and asked for my usual medication, panadol and erythromycin. Instead, I was given Dhrasedyl (for cough), Fedac (for runny nose), something else for swollen throat and Clarithomycin (supposedly cause less gastric problem).
4 days later and with fever still hovering at 38.5C, I returned to the GP (Mr Lau on duty then) and asked for 2 more days of MC. After examining me, he prescribed me a stronger antibiotic called Zinnat and charged me $30/- (very expensive drug!).
When I reached home, I realised that there isn't any literature on Zinnat and I had to look for it on the net. I was startled by what I discovered when it prints "...if you are allergic to penicilin or cephalosporin antibiotions, you may have an increased chance of being allergic to Zinnat".
The following day, I return to the GP (Ms. Foo) and here's an excerp:-
Me: Do you know the literature for Zinnat caution users with penicillin allergy?
GP: We know that you have a slight chance of getting an allergic reaction but the benefits outweights the risks. There is a 20% chance that you will get allergies when you take it.
(Note: 20% risks in medical line is VERY HIGH, ask your doc if you don't believe it)
Me: Why didn't you inform me of this fact before prescribing me this medications?
GP: It's our policy not to explain to patients or even give out literature. Do you know how long it will take to explain all the risks to our patients?
Me: So it's your policy to keep patients in the dark?
GP: The risk to you is only 20%, we can't be turning down that 80% because of this 20% risk. No matter, I can prescribe you another medicine if you don't want to take this medication.
(See how well she avoided my questions)
Then she proceeded to exchange that unused EXPENSIVE drug for a LESS expensive one without REIMBURSING me for the difference. So, if an alternative drug exists which doesn't carry a 20% risk, she should have prescribed it first!
All these boils down to profits, since if I am sold the EXPENSIVE drug, the GP makes more money, regardless if I've a 20% risk. Being pissed off, I refused to start on the new antibiotics and on the next day, my fever started to subside.
In fact, my wife already have said that if this is a viral flu attacking the throat, I will have a slight infection there and no antibiotics will cure it. True enough, once my fever went away, so did my sore throat.
Had fever, runny nose and a bad cough (sore throat too). I tried Healthline GP (Ms. Foo) and asked for my usual medication, panadol and erythromycin. Instead, I was given Dhrasedyl (for cough), Fedac (for runny nose), something else for swollen throat and Clarithomycin (supposedly cause less gastric problem).
4 days later and with fever still hovering at 38.5C, I returned to the GP (Mr Lau on duty then) and asked for 2 more days of MC. After examining me, he prescribed me a stronger antibiotic called Zinnat and charged me $30/- (very expensive drug!).
When I reached home, I realised that there isn't any literature on Zinnat and I had to look for it on the net. I was startled by what I discovered when it prints "...if you are allergic to penicilin or cephalosporin antibiotions, you may have an increased chance of being allergic to Zinnat".
The following day, I return to the GP (Ms. Foo) and here's an excerp:-
Me: Do you know the literature for Zinnat caution users with penicillin allergy?
GP: We know that you have a slight chance of getting an allergic reaction but the benefits outweights the risks. There is a 20% chance that you will get allergies when you take it.
(Note: 20% risks in medical line is VERY HIGH, ask your doc if you don't believe it)
Me: Why didn't you inform me of this fact before prescribing me this medications?
GP: It's our policy not to explain to patients or even give out literature. Do you know how long it will take to explain all the risks to our patients?
Me: So it's your policy to keep patients in the dark?
GP: The risk to you is only 20%, we can't be turning down that 80% because of this 20% risk. No matter, I can prescribe you another medicine if you don't want to take this medication.
(See how well she avoided my questions)
Then she proceeded to exchange that unused EXPENSIVE drug for a LESS expensive one without REIMBURSING me for the difference. So, if an alternative drug exists which doesn't carry a 20% risk, she should have prescribed it first!
All these boils down to profits, since if I am sold the EXPENSIVE drug, the GP makes more money, regardless if I've a 20% risk. Being pissed off, I refused to start on the new antibiotics and on the next day, my fever started to subside.
In fact, my wife already have said that if this is a viral flu attacking the throat, I will have a slight infection there and no antibiotics will cure it. True enough, once my fever went away, so did my sore throat.
1 Comments:
At 9:41 AM,
marie-joelle said…
Hope you've learnt by now that going to the doctor is a waste of time and money - unless you need to get an M.C.
Hehe.
When I'm sick, I self-medicate. That doesn't involve eating any medication. Instead it usually means eating fruit and veg and drink lots and lots of water. And getting enough sleep, of course. It works pretty well in 80% of cases, I'd say. Maybe more. ;)
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