TiDowling:Hi all, just want to share.
Went to at Yong Kang Medical Hall (Telok Blangah). It was an extremely horrible experience. Would never wish to go back.
The chinese physician was (allow me to summarise it) :
1. Not respectful. She did to greet her patients. No manners... bai jia zi?
2. Horrible Patient care - For instance, she expect patients to know what to do in her clinic. Given very vague instructions to patients. Lack of sympathy to patients.
3.No Patients privacy. The curtains used there was not closed entirely when you are in the room.
4. Called her own prices. It was not what that was indicated on the notice. Prices goes by her mood?
I do not doubt her expertise, but as a patient, wouldn't you want a doctor that shows concern to you when you are in pain? Such unprofessional service is intolerable.
I refer to the above comments posted by Tidowling on 20 Feb 2016.
I wish to point out to the KiasuParents forum community that Tidowling is a new member who signed up on 20 Feb, made 1 malicious post about my clinic and then never wrote another post or had any other activity on Kiasu Parents. She/he has set up her profile as a female student on KiasuParents and but as a 25 year old male adult on Singapore motherhood, leaving the same comments there, clearly out to damage my reputation. Not sure how many other fake profiles he/she has. I ask readers to make your judgements carefully as there are a lot of misinformation and flaming on the internet.
Nonetheless, I am grateful to him/her for his/her comments, as it gives me an opportunity to reflect and respond to his/her complaints and allegations.
This is my response:
First of all, I wish to apologise to all my patients who often have to wait a long time for their turn to see me. I am grateful and humbled for their trust and support, that despite the long wait, they still wish to see me.
Indeed, due to the sheer volume of patients and the time taken to diagnose and treat each of them, patients inevitably have to wait up to 1 to 2 hours for their turn to see me especially on weekends, Saturday and Sunday. They are always advised to come during weekdays when it is usually less crowded. However, most people still choose to come on weekends.
First-time patients may have to wait longer as I need to understand their illnesses. However, I wish to reassure them that it is my principle that whether my patients are from a humble or privileged background, I would treat them the same, with my full heart and respect. Even on my busy day, I would hear them out and treat them as best as I can. I even give concessions/discounts to those who cannot afford the treatment financially.
For returning patients who have already seen me or my other colleagues for diagnosis and consultation and simply wish to have their acupuncture session, they would be given the chance to have their acupuncture session first if there are available beds without having to wait too long for their turn. This is as stated on the notice at the counter \"Please note that waiting sequence is not according to numbers. It depends on availability of beds\"), \"排队看病不一定按照程序, 有空床时, 会让那些用到床者先进来\"。
Our clinic has three other TCM physicians, they are as competent as I am. If patients are not willing to wait too long, they are advised to see other physicians.
As for the charges, I still charge according the what is written in my clinic, which is as follows: Acupuncture S$18 to $30, cupping $4-$8, and Herbal medicine $6 to $9 per day. Usually, we charged about $7 to $8 per day for medicine (to be taken two times a day).
As I have patients coming from overseas such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Sabah, India, they often request for more medicine when they are returning home. We also have patients who are going overseas for a longer period of time who may also ask for more medicine. Some regular patients with chronic conditions who stay further away or wish to save the trouble of coming regularly to the clinic to collect their medicine often also request to collect medicine for a longer period of time.
Cost of treatment depends on the condition treated, the number of days the medicine is prescribed for and the methods of treatment required / requested for by the patients.
For example, those who are treated for hives, acne, eczema, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, infertility and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), I normally prescribe one month worth of medicine and this may come up to over $100 to $200+. But those treated for flu, sore throat, fever etc they need only to pay less than $38 for four days of medicine.
For patients who suffer from more serious or chronic illnesses such as water retention, breathing difficulty, irregular heart beats, tumors/fibroids/cancer etc, or patients who had hair loss, weight obesity and wish to get well faster, they may request for / require more methods of treatment besides herbal medicine such as tuina and acupuncture. Then, the charges would add up to be over $100+. Or when they prefer to sign a package for 10 sessions of treatment, the charges would be over $300. However this would be explained upfront to the patients and up to patients' discretion.
My charges are not expensive. Those who have visited other TCM clinics would agree with me. Acupuncture charges by other clinics range from $40 to $50. There are some clinics that charge over $100 including consultation.
All our patients are treated with respect. When they are treated with acupuncture, all the cubicles have non-see-through curtains (which offer the same level of privacy as those used in hospitals). We take care to ensure our curtains are fully drawn at all times.
All our staff are well trained, they are polite and respect our patients. Many of them would hold elderly patients by their hands and guide them to my room to see me. I value and appreciate my staff. If there are those rare exceptions patients felt otherwise, I apologize on their behalf. I will continue to encourage my staff to treat our patients with compassion, care and respect at all times.
Should you have any doubts, it would be best to visit my clinic personally to judge for yourself and speak to the patients and staff there. You can also refer to my blog for more information about me, my clinic & my clinical cases
http://drongsweeling.blogspot.sg/ 