I wanted to make a fair and as objective as it can be report on the overall quality of services of the Hospital where I got the MSCT (Mesenchymal Stem Cells Transplant) in an attempt to recover from my MS (Multiple Sclerosis). For those of you who did not follow; check the story here.
I have been thinking on how to make it neat and understandable for anyone who would like to follow my steps. And then it present it by itself the day they gave me the paper to fill up a survey,
All questions are there but I’ll try to reply thoroughly instead of giving a score from 1 to 5 as they ask on their form. Let’s do it; I’ll make this post sticky and reply as it goes.
Q:Would you recommend PuHua Hospital to your friends or family?
Probably. I think they have a gap in the survey form between ‘Probably’ and ‘Definitely Yes’. I would have put a ‘Most Likely’. That would depend on what the friend/family member is looking for. By what I have see, they are on the top of their game but too many parameters intervene for me using the word ‘definitely’.
Q: How did you learn of our hospital?
There we have the option ‘internet’ which I believe fits best with what I have done: research, research… Internet is a great tool for that.
Since the day I have been diagnosed with MS; I have tried to stay informed about discoveries, treatments, meds … that happened in that field. PuHua popped in my searches already since a while, but the circumstances were different.
Q:When you found our website, how easy was it to find answers to YOUR questions?
Mmmh.. That one got a 3/5. Between very difficult (1) and very easy (5). The fact is that I had to understand the way they diffuse the information and rather than difficult I would say incomplete. When someone is suffering the kind of ailments treatable with stem cells; he better be well informed on how it is supposed to work, what can be expected, what are the odds, is there any bases on which one can identify himself with. It was difficult in a way that the information had to be ‘guessed’ instead of seen in plain writing. But for the one who really want it; it is not an obstacle.
Q: When you found our website, how easy was it to find a person with whom to share YOUR questions with?
A bit easier – 4/5. But since there was only 1 person to contact for information, acting obviously as a relay between me and the different departments who could answer my concerns. The salesperson was very well aware of the ‘where to ask’ issues. The facility; tho very well equipped, does not spread on square kilometers, so the sales to direct talk with a Doctor in charge were certainly short.
Q: When you correspond with our medical consultant, can you get a response timely?
Again ,yes. Quickly. The answer to this question could easily merge with the previous one. There has been a gap between the deposit of the advance (20%) and it lasted roughly 10 days, because of a computer system failure on their part. I find it a bit long for such an important facility, with no visible lack of funding for reinstating that but… Who am I to judge that?
Q: Who made the decision to come to the hospital?
Possible answers are: “Patient”, “The patient ‘s parent/guardian”, “Relative/caretaker”, “Friend”, “Other”. Do not try to ponder on the possible answers; I’ve tried that too. In this case; it was me (The patient) but I could easily have said “Friends”. My Friends influenced a lot for my decision. Without them; none of this would have been possible. They gave me support in morale, funds; they offered their time and energy without limit and that is a strong motivator for you doing your best.
Q: Did your attending Doctor seem to fully grasp your condition?
Yes. But after seeing me; the prognosis got a lot less optimistic.A bit like from “you gonna ride outta here on a skate” to “better we get to work” kind of attitude. The Doctor know his trade; you can see that. All of them. And that “all of them” made me curse the summer vacations. I got 3 neurologists to care of my case because they had to take their days off (yeah, socialism, y’a know..) and tho I am sure it did not influence the outcome it would have made the life of everyone easier. There was a transition time and there is always information loss in the process… I had to repeat things many times. Their English communication is at least as good as mine since we understood each others, but take my suggestion in consideration: avoid vacation periods unless you got the procedure done in a dictatoriat.
Q: Did the Doctor made daily ward-round to check on you?
Yes, even few times a day. Possibly different Doctors also; but they all knew well the case. I am a bit disappointed the Chief Neurologist popped only once in my room, but she had to take her vacations… (California she said…). All ask pertinent questions and answered to my technical questions. Matters were treated. also very quickly (beside my hormones levels’ panel, as explained in another post). One day I felt my pulse abnormal; quickly checked by the nurses. Within 10′ I was seen by the attending Doctor and an hour later got an echography of my heart… I know we were in a private hospital with VIP privileges but it still very efficient, compared to some countries. I have been seen by dermatologist and osteopath too; timely.
Q: Did the Doctors treated you with respect and courtesy?
Sure. That’s a non-question that sound more like a plea to confirm their good behavior. Those persons are highly educated. Courtesy and respect of other human being is taught well before the ABC of the of the stem cells transfer. We were between gentlemen/ladies. Furthermore; I was the customer and had to fork out a pile of cash between their arms; who’s gonna treat that with disrespect..?
Q: Did the Doctor explained things in a way that was easy to understand?
I have to say yes. But they had to adjust their vocabulary to the level of understanding I could bear. I could not make the difference between a synapse and a dandruff; which way are they going to explain? I am no neurologist; even if I tried to educate myself as best as I could. They had to treat me like a 12 years old in that regard… I assume they know what they’re doing so beside the big lines, what shall I have to understand? If we are talking about communication; well then this question can combine with others upper in this post. If it is regarding the tech aspect; just talk until you see me reaching my level of incompetence and stupidly nodding my head… And do your turf…
Q: Did the Doctors respond or visit you in a timely manner when you had a question?
I think it is simpler than that. I kept my questions for when a nurse or a doctor popped in the room; as they were regularly visiting me I dont really understand why I should ring the Doctor/nurses each time I get a (often non-relevant) question. It is a matter of education maybe, but I hate to annoy peoples; would they be Doctor, nurses, taxi driver… So answer is yes.
Q:Did you receive explanations and guidance regarding what should do and avoid doing after your discharge?
An answer yes/no. I want to say yes; because it was given blind folded. What I mean by that is that they cannot possibly imagine how many different scenario I am involved in everyday life. If I had to stay there in the same context it is correct. Unfortunately (or fortunately) life outside and at home is different. I was given prescriptions and how to use them. I was also told that I should keep regular monitoring on some vitals (another post). In my case; re-education of muscular-skeletton structure is of the utmost importance. I might have to go for a second run… It will all depend on how this batch will behave within 6 months.
Here we have an almost exact replica of set of questions; replacing the word “Doctor” wit “Nurses”, “Therapist” and “Service-Coordinator”. I take the same opinion for all of them regarding their 
professionalism, dedication, courtesy and their good will to communicate in a language that is foreign to them. After all; we are in the 21st Century; I am sure everyone going there have a SmartPhone and the life translation App that I bought to get there cost me 5$. It works perfectly well and handle without coughing 40 languages spoken and 100 written only. Because I was in their country; I feel I am the one that have to be understood; and not the other way around. But that opinion is subjective; I reckon.
I have to praise our chief nurse (Bella) and our coordinator (Cathy) who really did an effort for us. They all did; but those two were particularly – if not only – trying to help us.
The only weak point was that; because they knew Mikalina master Chinese perfectly (her mother language), they tend to use the lazy way directly speaking to her; and I had to get their focus on me sometimes. It is probably human, I guess I would have done the same in that given circumstance.
Another section is dedicated to the Hygiene during the stay; questions being: “Did the cleaners treated you with courtesy and respect?”, “Did the cleaners clean your room thoroughly and timely”, “Was the working procedure of the ceaning service acceptable?” and “How well did the cleaners work?”.
Yes; 5/5. How could they miss a 4MX5M room with the brushes, towels and bleach. All was fine; even after I attempt to eat Doritos in the bed… Trash cans were emptied twice a day; the caregiver Mr.Yang was omnipresent each time I needed something… Castle life…
The entire “procedure”, “hospital”, “treatment” was near perfect for me. I could not emit a single reasonable complain from the top of my head.
And that;; lead us to the last section of this survey: The Financial.
If you are rolling on a fortune and that a 100 bucks wont make much difference anyway, a ballpark price is ok and that is what you get there, You sign up for a 100$ and you have a 101.5$ bill; well; fine but…
When I negotiated the price, in beginning of the year we made an agreement of (for the sake of facility and those are not the real numbers that I won’t give online) 1,000$. Then I ask for a discount and they offered me 5%. Which makes; as all can easily check on their computer throughout a sophisticated macro in Excel – 950$ So far so good… I had to pay 20% in advance; which is 190$, and I did. Therefore there was 760$ to be paid. And before I leave I send 800$ to make sure to have some slack if I get an heart attack or else. So I paid 990$ before invoice.
My visa; which cost was supposed to be reimbursed is for now on the side. Their invoice is here compared with what was agreed before I left:
| Invoiced Debit | Agreed Debit | Remitttances | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procedure Total | 980 | 1000 | |
| After Discount | 970 | 950 | |
| First Remittance | 190 | ||
| Second Remittance | 800 | ||
| Totals | 970 | 950 | 990 |
| Reimbursment to me | 20 | 40 | *59 |
| Comment | ~ 1% | 5% as in the exchanged EMails | if 5% applied to Invoiced Price |
And that does not even includes the Visa reimbursement (let say 5$).
If they had follow the agreed price I would have collected 40$ to come back. If they had applied the 5% on the invoiced price I should have collected 59$… In all cases the invoice is WRONG
I am now in the process to try to fix that with their commercial/sales; after all they are the ones that sold me the package…
Last part of the Questioning was about the hospital environment; ie “Was your Privacy respected?”, “Wa the public Toilet and public area kept clean?” and “During your stay, was your Pantry kept Clean?”.:
Yes to all; as I already said; the whole “hospital part” of the deal was near-perfect. I have only the complains seen in this post; Invoicing and Communiations… OH! Maybe the TV programs… Yeah, the TV. There you see what kind of customers get there. There are 20 Chinese and 20 Arabic Channels hahahahaa… Not a sinle English speaking channel.
But as I don’t watch TV this was a non-issue…
A picture worth many words; so here you go…
That’s All, I may make a permanent page of this later.