To get the most from public hospital

In previous blog, I have mentioned difference in public versus private medical care. As consumer who pays for medical service either by direct charge or indirect charge through taxation but time consming waiting list, one would seek the best means to obtain good and personalised service in public system

1. Stress on making appointment to new case clinic

Usually the new case clinic is seen by senior doctors or specialist directly. This help to prevent missing important ill patient who may not have correct diagnosis on referral. This is much better than going back to the old clinic with regular FU and reporting a new symptom or new disease. Stree on getting referral addressed to the new case time slot of the specialist clinic.

2. Ask politely for being interviewed by senior team member of the in charge physicians team.

So always allow for being interview at day time. At rush hours or non office hour, usually the front line doctors or even the on call doctors are available. There is absolutely minimal effect in asking question or challange the care mode when you are interviewed by person without authority.

3  Make a gesture of asking for well documented information but do not make threat to complain

Human nature make public servants sensitive to clients requiring thorrough documentation of every details. But never pose a threat to complain, This iwill destroy the original relationship with caregiver.

4. Make careful research on mode of treatment of your own disease. Make suggestion or pose rational queries on the selected mode of treatment.

5. Before committing to have operation in this or that hospital. Do research on number of similar cases handled in those cedntres.also some hospital has shorter operatoperation waiting list than other. Borrow other address if necessary

6. Trust your care givers and maintain harmonious relatioship by mutual respect.

For private care, word of mouth and transparency of charge is important and reflect the professionalism of individual specialist.

If the specialist refues to discuss the cost or fees before committment of care or hospitalisation, beware of that. If the care of the specialist are to be split among other profession, the client retain the right to know how the fee is splitted or on which ground.

I am Dr Chung Shiu Shek specialised in cardiac and thoracic surgery. Feel free to discuss your own or your family medcial need with me. I strive to give my best possible advice to any questioners. Phone: 3160 8865  E mail: chungss@ymail.com

Thank you

Medical checkup : A devil or an angel

Recently I came across previously healthy persons having major pahtology after medcial examination for relatively non urgent symptoms.  It dose reveal how life is so fragile and the relative inaccuracy of sense of being good as indicator of own health.

One relatively young middle aged women complaint of feeling mass in the abdomen. Being regarded as inexperienced person, self reporting of a mass in the abdomen is usually wrong. The possiblity may be nothing, fecal loaded colon or ballotable kidney or transmitted abdominal aorta pulsation.

Further enquiry about the symptom is none. There is no change of bowel habit and appetite and body weight is normal.  She has early menopause and otherwise healthy. Routine USG examination review nodule and echogenic shadow in the liver. Subsequent high power imaging showed multiple enlarged cystic and cavernous haemangioma in liver. Haemangioma is one of the most commonest benign tumour in liver. It is even more benigh than polycystic disease.  The pathology of haemangioma is not certain but autopsies study did reveal lot of people dying with asymptomatic large cavernous haemangioma. She was told to lead normal life until condition change. Of course, rupture of haemangioma will be fatal and under reported because they seldom arrive alive at Emergency department.

Another patient has chronic appetite loss. X ray show upper mediastinal mass. CT showed huge mediastinal cyst displaying the esophagus and abutting trachea.
Early surgery is advised even if the chance of malignancy is low. Patient is feeling unexpected diagnosis being serious blow to life.

Following previous blogs on asymptomatic lung cancer, early lung cancer is usually not detected and can be found normally by low dose CT screening.

Whether we should screen ourselve for common disease or not?  Some may prefer not to know seious potential disease. However, cure of disease is usually only possible for early diagnosed cancer. So screening is useful for individual person althought nor always cost effective for whole society. (Because extra resource is needed to diagnose or rule out asymptomatic and normal but looking suspicious area.

If one afford to do screening with time and money, I think occasional CXR say every 3 - 4 years, stool x occult blood and exercise test (simlified with only resting or stress ECG and saturation monitor may be all required for middle aged person. For female cervical smear, breast examination is useful.
For elderly male, PSA for prostate and USG for hepatitis carrier will be necessary.

For whole society, immunisation of Hepatitis B vaccine, and health education and policy to eliminate promotion of smoking, alcohol and bad fast food is useful.
A postive attitude to life and treasure of life is always good.

So precious moment seems to be gone if one did not make preparation of possible bad things.

I have help cure some individual who only got news of advanced cancer in screening procedure. Hope they grow strong after difficult therapy pathway.

My name is Dr SS Chung, andrew, My clinic no is 3160 8865, I welcome question and query on helath issue and I practice general medicine, heart disease, chest disease and chest surgery and minimally invasive heart and lung and aortic surgery.

To be or not to be: ON call 36 小時

I have briefed the internet surfer that to be a doctor, one needs to sacrifice own lifestyle and time. Further doctors are not much respected nowadays as they need to dealt with personal conflict with patients at front line. Stress in life decrease quality of life of care taker. But is it worthwhile?
To many young people who graduate recently from secondary school. They may have to decide early in their life whether to take up the profession or not.

As one of the specialist in this field, I have every capacity that I need to make statement of this. It is worth while and still much challanging. To make sacrifice requires strength and determination. It is worth the effort to endure until you finish the training. Training takes 6 to 8 years on top of medical school teaching and life long commitment for further education is also required,
But it is worth while to devote oneself to meaningful life. Further, the recreational aspect for doctors education is fun.

So young people, do go for the touch job as medical student and future challange is worthwhile.