Practicing Medical Skills in a Small Clinic

Chapter 329 - 176: Treating Pericarditis, the So-Called Withholding Treatment_3

"Alright then, I’ll try it at home after eating. To be honest, the fact that you don’t take the opportunity to sell more medicine here already sets you apart from other clinics and pharmacies. If the treatment works well, I’ll definitely help you guys promote it in the future. Our place really needs good doctors who are both skilled and ethical."

The man happily bought the medicine and left.

A total of 30 yuan.

With the cost of the X-ray, it’s 130 yuan.

If you go to a big hospital, it would start at at least fifteen hundred, and the waiting time would probably take more than half a day.

After an ECG, they would also do an echocardiogram, and might even do a pericardial puncture, then send the sample for testing. The lab would perform bacteriological, biochemical, and cell classification tests on the extracted fluid.

It would likely take until the next day to get all the results.

Then, for pericarditis patients, the hospital outpatient clinics often admit them as inpatients.

So, for patients going to a big hospital for this condition, fifteen hundred yuan is just the beginning.

The time cost would be extremely high too.

For mild cases like his, resting well and avoiding the trouble of queuing is more effective than any good medicine.

From this perspective, a good clinic brings significant benefits to the people.

For this patient’s diagnosis and treatment, the attribute panel’s gains are considerable.

Doctor level experience +5, Cardiovascular Medicine diagnosis +10, pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics +5, life value +11.

After handling a major case, the next five patients all had common ailments.

He consulted and prescribed for each one.

By the third patient, Han Siying had finished her tasks at the counter and stood behind him, learning.

Under normal circumstances, if working in a big hospital, residents would only after three years have the opportunity to learn in the outpatient clinic, often only one day a week.

Once promoted to attending, outstanding doctors would have the chance to qualify for outpatient appointments.

Han Siying just graduated and only had one year of hospital internship experience.

Following Li Jingsheng in the outpatient clinic is immensely beneficial for her.

"Dr. Li, my child has a fever, cough, and their breathing is wheezy. Could you take a look? Can it be treated here?"

A middle-aged woman, with a sun-darkened complexion, brought a six- or seven-year-old boy.

Judging from their clothes, it’s clear they are urban migrants, likely with limited financial means.

The middle-aged woman looked about thirty-three or thirty-four, possibly younger.

Her hair was casually tied at the back, with several loose strands showing at the temples.

She wore black trousers and a cheap floral shirt. Her skin was noticeably dark.

Her hands were rough, even showing some fine cracks.

She appeared robust.

The child wore a school uniform, with cheap sneakers severely worn at the edges.

Nowadays, parents regard their children as treasures, even without means, they choose the best food and clothes for them.

Both this middle-aged mother and her child seemed malnourished.

It’s pretty clear their economic situation is not good.

She called out Li Jingsheng’s name immediately, indicating she recognized him.

"How long has the kid been ill?"

Li Jingsheng gestured for the child to sit down.

Unexpectedly, the child was obedient, looked at his mother, and said something in dialect.

The meaning was probably asking the mother to sit down.

"It’s okay, it’s okay, there are more chairs, Siying, bring another one over."

Witnessing this scene, Li Jingsheng didn’t say anything but thought the kid was very considerate inside.

The saying goes, children from struggling families grow up faster.

Seeing their parents toil, they better understand their hardship.

This child, despite feeling unwell, thought about letting his mother sit.

Truly heartwarming.

"I’ll just hold him! Don’t trouble yourselves!"

The child’s mother quickly stopped Han Siying, holding her son while sitting on the chair.

"My youngest son caught a cold last Monday, got some medicine from the pharmacy and felt better. But the cough persisted, and now he’s got a fever again. Since last night, his breathing has been heavy. This morning he didn’t improve, so I took leave from the construction site to bring him for treatment."

There are several large construction sites nearby, she likely works at one of them.

This child has had a cold for more than a week, now still coughing, started to have a fever, and heavier breathing due to difficulty in breathing.

It indicates the condition is worsening.

"Dr. Li, do you think my son’s condition is caused by incomplete medication from the pharmacy, resulting in the recurrent symptoms?"

The woman didn’t hold back, directly asking.

"The possibility is very low. Medications nowadays are prepackaged, sealed by the manufacturer, inspected rigorously before release, generally safe."

Li Jingsheng often hears patients mention the term ’leaving a tail’ with medication.

Though it can’t be ruled out, it generally doesn’t happen in regular hospitals.

Doctors wish to cure patients in one go, no need to have them constantly return.

’Recurrence’ of cases sounds like revisiting but differs from normal follow-ups.

We’ve all heard of ’returns’ where substandard products are sent back to the manufacturer for repair or replacement.

A commodity frequently returned indicates poor quality.

Similarly, a patient regularly returning for follow-ups reflects on the doctor’s skills.

If too many return visits occur, that doctor will be scrutinized by the hospital’s quality control and medical department and deemed not up to standard, swiftly removed from outpatient duty, marginalized.

No legitimate hospital doctor would joke around about their future.

Furthermore, little profit comes from repeat visits, no need for this approach.

As for why small clinics have many return customers, it’s usually not about ’leaving a tail.’

At most, the medication dose is deliberately reduced, achieving some therapeutic effect but not a cure. The aim is to have patients return for more treatments.

For instance, a dosage meant for one session is split into two or three.

This might occur in clinics.

Anyway, Li Jingsheng never engaged in this.