Release date: 2014-09-16
In 2012, Lin Tao was diagnosed with a cervical tumor. The doctor in Hangzhou told him that he had only one option in China to undergo surgery and replace the two vertebrae, but the surgery had the risk of paralysis.
Lin Tao and his wife chose another path.
The couple came to San Francisco and spent $70,000 at the University of California's UCSF Medical Center. The doctor at the hospital suggested that Lin Tao try radiation therapy instead of surgery. Now, his family said that the tumor has disappeared and he has saved his ability to walk.
Nowadays, more and more Chinese people go overseas to seek medical treatment. The diseases that these people suffer from are lack of treatment in China, or the treatment effect is not good. Lin Tao is one of them. In the future, the number of such “medical tourists†may increase.
According to Saint Lucia, a hospital management consulting company in Beijing, most of these tourists hold tourist visas, and they often do not say their true travel purposes during the visa interview.
In the past decade, the Chinese middle class has swarmed to South Korea to plasticize, go to Hong Kong and the United States to give birth. Japan and Singapore have become common destinations for medical examinations.
Data from US hospitals and overseas medical service providers show that more and more Chinese patients with life-threatening diseases seek medical treatment overseas.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said that the number of people seeking treatment from China has more than doubled in the past year. The clinic now has a Chinese website and recruits some translators.
According to Mikel Prieto, medical director of the Mayo Clinic International, China seems to be the fastest growing market in all countries. He is not willing to provide specific data.
The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center said that in the past few years, the number of people seeking medical treatment from China has increased by more than 25% per year. The Massachusetts General Hospital estimates that the number of people seeking treatment from China this year will more than double from 40 last year.
In China, hospitals have difficulty making profits. William Hsiao, an economics professor at the Harvard University School of Public Health, said that Chinese doctors are less well-paid, earning income through outpatient services, and it is common to prescribe drugs to get kickbacks, which is a problem for patients. Exploitation. Xiao Qinglun was one of the authors of the research report on Chinese medical reform published last week.
The dependence on surgery, the price increase of drugs, and complicated diagnostic tests have led to an increase in medical expenses for patients and an increase in disputes between doctors and patients. In the face of doctor misdiagnosis, some patients have adopted violent means. According to a 2013 survey by the Chinese Hospital Association, many Chinese doctors have indicated that they have been threatened or verbally abused by their patients.
“Some of the medical measures taken are not entirely from the patient's point of view, but from the perspective of economic interests,†said John Cai, director of the Center for Health Management and Policy Research at China Europe International Business School. "The patient-centered medical service system has not yet been established."
Last year, China's medical and health expenditure totaled RMB 820 billion (US$ 133 billion), an increase of more than 13% over the previous year. According to the Ministry of Finance data, this is equivalent to 5.8% of the total fiscal expenditure. McKinsey & Co., a consultancy, expects China's health spending to reach $1 trillion by 2020.
However, this figure is still only a fraction of the huge population of China and the increasing number of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
As wealth increases, Chinese are willing to pay more for better medical services. According to the World Bank, China’s per capita medical expenditure has more than doubled since 2008. However, rich Chinese can buy the most expensive products, but high-end medical services are not so easy to get.
According to China's complex hospital rating system, nearly 1,000 hospitals have been rated as top three hospitals, including the hospitals that Mr. Lin and his wife have consulted. But the hospital's rating does not guarantee good treatment.
Professor Cai said that the top three hospitals have a considerable amount of resources for cadre health care and official treatment, and the cost is not cost. "This is a real problem," he said.
"Unless you are a very powerful person, you can't get the best treatment in China." Cai Qiang, president of the Shenguo family, said, "If you only have money, experts in a top hospital in China are still going to Looking for a relationship. Even so, the time and care that Chinese doctors can give him is very limited."
Lin Tao is a businessman. He and his wife Zhu Yuguang said that they waited for five hours. As a result, the doctor only watched for five minutes and suggested that he carry out an operation that could cost hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Cai Qiang said that in 2011, Shengnuo had only a few customers. In 2012, there were nearly 100 customers. Last year, the number of customers of the company doubled.
It is true that only people with strong financial resources can enjoy the services of Shenguo's family or similar institution, Mega Health Care. The cost of finding overseas medical institutions for patients is about $10,000. This fee does not include any medical expenses, nor does it include airfare or accommodation. Medical expenses are paid directly to the overseas hospital by the patient. Lin Tao and his wife said that they also spent a related fee of 50,000 US dollars in addition to medical expenses.
Another patient who only revealed his surname Wang spent two hundred and a half years of lung cancer treatment in a top hospital in Beijing and her hometown of Jinan, Shandong Province, and then came to the United States. With the spread of cancer cells, Ms. Wang, 49, has no choice in China. She went to the Massachusetts General Hospital for medical treatment in July this year through the introduction of the Shenguo family.
Her treatment in the United States, including radiation and chemotherapy, has cost $270,000 so far. Ms. Wang and her husband both work in the government department. They have used up their savings and sold a house. They are currently borrowing money everywhere.
She said: "I am very grateful to my doctor. But I never expected the medical expenses in the United States to be so high." It is too early to judge whether her treatment is effective.
According to the Shenguo family, patients with fatal diseases account for 80% of their total patients. The most common are lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma. The United States is the preferred destination for medical treatment, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany. Cai Qiang said that the medical expenses for going abroad for medical treatment averaged 100,000 to 150,000 US dollars, but in some cases the cost could be as high as 700,000 US dollars.
Andrew Warshaw, medical director of the International Patient Services Department at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the challenge for China's healthcare system means that patients who have the ability to go abroad for medical treatment will seek alternatives. He said that some patients had poor initial treatment in China and came to the United States for a second round of treatment.
According to the latest statistics released by the National Cancer Center, there are 3.09 million new cases of cancer in China and 1.96 million deaths from cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, in contrast, it is estimated that there were 1.67 million new cancer cases in the United States in 2014, and 590,000 deaths from cancer.
In May of this year, Zhu Yuguang posted a post in a domestic forum about their experience of going to the United States to see a doctor. After the post was spread on Chinese social media, she received hundreds of requests from China for details. Some people have criticized their decision, saying that she could have spent less money to help her husband cure.
Zhu Yuguang believes that the money spent on medical treatment in the United States is worthwhile. It keeps Lin Tao's ability to walk. Doctors provide radiation therapy and eliminate unnecessary treatment.
She said: "At least my husband doesn't have to be hospitalized, he just ate a few pills."
Source: Wall Street Journal Chinese Network
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