are chinese hospitals reliable?

Question

i am an american studying in northeast china in a city called Siping. my ear is hurting alot after a cold i got rid of recently. i cant go back home yet. what should i do?

Answer 1

Yes, but they tend to rely on more herbal remedies... They work just as well, with less side effects... But be prepared for some pretty bad tasting stuff!! =)

Answer 2

Yes, You can rely on the fact that:-

Your doctor may have less schooling than you do (in the country)

Half the medicine that is "prescribed" or "recommended" is useless and has nothing to do with your illness and everything to do with selling more medicine

You will pay more as a foreigner (up to 3 times as much for some things - saw it in Yangshou)

You will pay up front

Most doctors in small towns or villages will see you sick as winning the lottery and be surprised when you refuse to pay them more than a doctor asks at home.

Your in the north so I'm not sure how to help, here in the south most of us go to Hong Kong.

If you are really worried a Beijing hospital might be OK but be prepared to pay cash upfront and wait.

Answer 3

when i was living in beijing, i got a very bad eye infection and had to go to the hospital. i decided to risk it and go to a small local hospital (not the type that a foreigner would go to in a big city). it was a little overwhelming when i had to basically try to rush to the door of the doctor's office to beat other people who wanted to meet him. like so many other things in china, there's no such thing as an orderly line at the hospital. it didnt feel like hospitals in the states where everything seems SO clean, it didnt feel so sanitized...but i was really happy to even see a doctor. it was quite cheap though. to see the doctor was 5 kuai, and to get my perscription it cost 2 kuai...that's less than 1 US dollar. it was an experience, but after getting my perscription my eye soon got better. if i were in the same situation, i would go again...

Answer 4

Not in Siping! Go to Beijing, or Tianjin. (If you can afford it!) I recently had a botched appendectomy here in Kunming. If it were the States, I could've sued for millions in malpractice... If it turns out you need to have surgery, go to Bangkok. The Bumrungrad Hospital there is cleaner, more modern, and cheaper than the U.S.!!!!!!!! Take care of yourself, and DON'T WAIT TOO LONG TO GET IT CHECKED OUT!!!!!! Could be serious... Good luck,
Jen

Answer 5

In larger cities, they are as good if not better than in many western countries. In any case, you should definitely see a doctor, from what you are describing, you might have an otitis or ear infection.

Answer 6

while on vacation, i got food poisoning in shanghai. i just waited til i got back to san francisco cause all the stories i hear. i felt like i was dying.... anyways, in your predicament just go to the hospital. u have no choice, unless u want to go home.

Answer 7

Well, I think you should take your chances since you've got no other choice. Like the other person said, the bigger cities should be okay.

Answer 8

HELL no. Once, I got really really sick while travelling in Beijing, the hospital I went to was soooooooooooooooooooooo crowded! (I think the name of that hospital I went to was people's hospital, or something like that, weird name) And the STRONG, DEADLY smell of alcohol (medical ones) there almost KILLED me.

Answer 9

Best thing to do is contact your closest consulate or embassy, they could most likely recommend were you could go for medical treatment.

Answer 10

yes to the big hospitals in the big cities

like beijing, wuhan, shanghai, guanzhou, chongqing