By Egay Uy
THEY told me so. Yes, it may be an uphill battle but because I believe it is imbued with public interest, I will do my best to bring it to the attention of policymakers, and that would be through the Department of Health. I will dedicate this advocacy to Juliet.
First, there is that apparent overpricing of medicines in drugstores in at least one private hospital (although I was told it is common in most, if not all, private hospitals). Then there is that hiwi policy that laboratory fees have to be paid in cash before lab services are done.
During Juliet’s confinement in the intensive care unit, I was awakened at around 3:30 in the morning (after I was able to sleep at around 2 am) by a telephone call just to be told to pay in cash (despite my hospital credit being open) the sum of about P1,250 so that a blood test could be made.
Because I was still half awake, I put down my cellular phone and unconsciously fell back to sleep. Then at 6:30 of the same morning, my phone rang again for the same reason.
Realizing that the blood test could not be done without me paying in cash (again, despite my credit being open), I had to rush to the hospital to pay that @%$#&^! amount. After I was able to pay, it was only then that the blood sample was extracted from Juliet.
Actually the blood test no longer help because Juliet’s condition deteriorated fast. The blood test was done early on Jan. 1 and my dear wife expired the next day.
Should hospitals require that blood tests be paid in cash even if the patient is in the ICU?
Are they afraid ICU patients will walk out of the hospital without hospital personnel knowing?
Na-ICU na gani, diskumpyado pa mo!
I can understand that hospitals are business ventures. But unlike any other ordinary business undertaking, hospitals should stretch their policies a bit. If the policy is to require cash payments for laboratory tests, then special or peculiar circumstances should be taken into consideration, i.e., the patient is in the ICU.
In Juliet’s case, the doctors ordered a blood test (actually during Juliet’s last few days, blood tests were done frequently) which should have been done immediately without waiting for the cash payment to be made. The patient was in the ICU, for heaven’s sake!
My impression is that hospital laboratories are manned by “MDs.” “MD” as in “Money Down.”
(Egay Uy is a lawyer. He chairs the City’s Regulatory and Complaint Board, co-chairs with the city mayor the City Price Coordinating Council, and chairs the city’s Joint Inspection Team. He retired as a vice president of Cepalco.)
