A hospital in Egypt? Crazy? Yes, definitely. Anyway I went to the Anglo-American Hospital with Nina (who has been suffering from a bad cough for the last few weeks) for a check -up. Upon entering, professor Lo immediately asked for a certain doctor who had helped our friend last week. Apparently this gentleman was not only quite friendly, but charged 50 pounds for a check (about $10). Unfortunately for Nina and yours truly this individual was "out". So a nurse said she would find us another doctor -- for 100 pounds (you do the math this time). Needless to say we weren't too pumped about the price hike, but we definitely needed to be checked.
The nurse led us into a small office with a doctor and his assistant (some old guy with a doctor's coat). The doctor greeted us and beckoned for me to sit down on his examining table. He immediately pulled up my shirt (with Nina and Prof. Lo standing feet behind me) and starting poking around asking if it hurt. Of course it hurt ... and when I told him this he thought it was a clever idea to push harder ... After about 30 seconds of jabbing my stomach and abdomen he checked my breathing.
After this cursory examination (if you could call it that) he told me that I have gastroenteritis (look it up if you are interested, I will spare the details) and needed IV treatment. 6 hours of IV to replace my fluids (because he thought I was dehydrated) ... 6 hours!?!? I told him I ate healthy and drank plenty of water and knew that my problem was dehydration related. He immediately said "oh, well you still need more fluids ... 6 hours of fluids". Well, 6 hours just sounded a little absurd so I said I would think about it -- and then he pressured me to do the procedure. I told him a would think about it.
Obviously, I didn't pursue this wonderful opportunity. Nina received a similar examination -- which resulted in "you have bronchitis and need a chest x-ray immediately". We decided to leave the hospital and try the AUC clinic. On leaving the doctor wrote us a quick note (with no official documentation or stamps of authority) saying we owed him 150 pounds in cash. Then his assistant starting hounding us for money, saying "money money money" and blocking the door so we couldn't even walk outside the office until we had paid him. Ridiculous. So Lo helped us fight the price and the doctor agreed to lower the fees to 100 pounds a person (the original price). Bargaining for medical services? Unheard of. Apparently not.
We later discovered that this doctor is not associated with the hospital, but rather owns space in the hospital where he runs his own private practice -- something the nurses failed to tell us. That means he can charge as much as he wants for as little service as possible.
Anyway, we took a cab to the AUC clinic. Nina and I wrote on names on a sheet paper, were invited into the doctor's office one at a time, received a 10 minute check, received a prescription, and were on our way. No fee. Then we walked to the pharmacy and purchased three prescriptions for a total of 21 pounds (about $4). Quite a different experience.
Alright off to class -- hope you enjoyed hearing about today's adventure and the medical disparities, not just between Egypt and America, but especially within Egypt.
Cheers,
Jonathan
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