Surgery Godfather
Chapter 1249 - 957: Only Plucking Others’ Feathers_2

Chapter 1249: Chapter 957: Only Plucking Others’ Feathers_2

The salesman and Dong Guanghan were fine-tuning the details.

Next to them, Dong Zhikai had a look of disgust on his face, and so did the nurse changing the IV bag in the next bed, but they didn’t care at all.

"How about this, I’ll stay up late tonight and retake the photos tomorrow."

Dong Guanghan decided to play mahjong all night long.

After visiting several hospitals, only Sanbo Hospital could cure his son’s illness. Dong Guanghan couldn’t possibly refuse treatment for his son, but he intended to fully exploit the economic value of this hospital stay and take the opportunity to make some money.

He had already thought it through: crowd-funding online was one avenue, and he should also get some compensation from the City People’s Hospital. No point in opening his shop if not to make a profit; if he did, he’d make enough to last three years. After all, he had started his fortune by exploiting migrant workers, dabbling in all kinds of extortion and bad debts. It was his fundamental skill for making a living and getting rich.

Who was he, Dong Guanghan? Not a hair would he give, but he would pluck others’ hairs.

When Zhang Lin saw the "unpaid" section on the computer screen, he was astonished. Dong Guanghan had claimed he needed to raise money, so he had only paid two thousand yuan to be admitted and hadn’t paid a penny more since then. His intentions were clear: once admitted, the hospital had to carry out the necessary exams and treatments. Otherwise, he would accuse them of refusing to treat someone without money and hold tight to the moral high ground.

Sometimes medical expenses are indeed a difficult issue: for life-saving treatments, the hospital will go all out regardless of the costs, as humanitarianism dictates. But what about non-life-saving treatments when the payment is uncertain?

If they treat, and the cost can’t be recouped, it eventually falls on the doctor because the hospital only covers life-saving expenses for humanitarian reasons. The hospital won’t cover other costs, so the doctors and departments bear the burden themselves. Ultimately, it’s the doctors who bear the brunt of the cost, with some hospitals even leaving doctors to foot the entire bill.

If they don’t treat, they risk moral condemnation, accused of lacking medical ethics by refusing treatment to those without money, betraying the core of being a doctor. Once patients and their families twist the story online, doctors can become seen as negative figures only out for profit.

Some say to treat first and settle the expenses later; it seems simple. But reality is harsh: many people might not dodge the bill, yet there are those who still do. Some genuinely can’t pay and lack both medical and commercial insurance. Then there are those who have the means but still evade payment because, after all, money is harder to part with once it’s in their pocket.

There have been regions that tried a policy of treating first and charging later, but they had to declare policy bankruptcy when it became unsustainable because many patients simply would not come to pay after receiving treatment, burdening hospitals with unsustainable debt.

Aren’t hospitals funded by government allocations? In reality, the funding is so paltry it’s akin to a drop in the bucket. Hospitals essentially have to be financially self-sufficient; doctors’ salaries are earned, not given by the government, a significant departure from civil servants and other public institution employees.

This also explains why hospitals are increasingly profit-driven. Without solving this problem, the phenomenon of medical behavior driven by financial interest can’t be eradicated.

"Teacher Zhang, what should we do?"

The Standardized Training Student following Zhang Lin also had a headache. The thing he least wanted to do was to press for payment—it made a decent doctor feel like some sort of loan shark.

"Those who meet the requirements for assistance follow those guidelines, and what else can be done for those who don’t?"

Zhang Lin was also at a loss. If someone could guarantee the costs, he wouldn’t say a word if the patient couldn’t pay. But if he had to pay out of his own pocket, he had a family to support too.

Dong Zhikai’s biopsy report on the harvested bone tissue had come back. Under the microscope, there was an abundance of blood sinus-like capillaries and fibrous tissue proliferation as well as lymphocyte infiltration or osteoclasts. These findings matched the pathological signs of idiopathic osteolysis, where such proliferating capillaries and fibrous tissue led to the absorption and dissolution of bone tissue.

Zhang Lin, holding the report, went to the ward to discuss Dong Guanghan’s condition and stumbled upon the discussion between the salesman and Dong Guanghan about raising donations. They made no effort to hide it.

"Donations, my ass! Just try asking for donations, and I’ll expose you."

Zhang Lin was gruff.

Both of them were taken aback, as they had never encountered a doctor who spoke like this before.

"How can you doctors have no compassion at all? You don’t donate yourself, and you don’t let others donate either?" Dong Guanghan said angrily, but didn’t dare to do anything to Zhang Lin.

Zhang Lin was not going to pamper him, "Wearing a watch worth over ten thousand, a private car that must be hundreds of thousands, and a house too. You’re in this financial situation and still go around collecting donations online, deceiving the goodwill of kind-hearted people? You’ve incurred a debit; pay up the fees quickly, handle the discharge tomorrow. The pre-surgery medication does not require hospitalization and can be completed as an outpatient. Wait until the bone condition is suitable before undergoing surgery."

"What do you mean by this, pushing people out? We were just about to start fundraising online, and now you’re telling me to be discharged? If we can’t collect the donations, how can we afford the treatment? Let us stay another week, wait until the money is raised before being discharged. You’ve got to hang some IVs at least, it doesn’t look much like hospital treatment this way." Dong Guanghan immediately put on a smiling face again.

"You’ve done this before, haven’t you? I heard that your last surgery was also funded by online donations. You’re not without money, so why are you always like this?" Zhang Lin did not mince words.

Dong Guanghan insisted with self-righteous anger, "My money, I don’t use it for stocks or investments; do I have to give it to the hospital? It’s not like I’m asking you to pay, so what are you fussing about, you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, like a dog chasing mice."

"Raising donations with your kind of financial situation is swindling people," Zhang Lin was unapologetic.

"Swindling? You’re being so unpleasant; it’s neither theft nor robbery, nor illegal. I earn money through my skills, why don’t you call the police and see if they arrest me?" Dong Guanghan showed no shame.

"Dr. Zhang, please, could you hang a few IV bags for Xiao Kai? That way, we can take photos, making it seem like his condition is more severe, which helps with fundraising," said the salesman very expertly, always able to focus on the main point.

Zhang Lin was speechless.

"He doesn’t need to be on an IV right now. Our medication is based on the illness, not what you want," Zhang Lin replied.

The salesman’s face was plastered with a smile, "Come on, help us out. If they can’t raise the funds and end up owing the hospital money, isn’t it eventually deducted from you? It’s not your money after all. It’s not illegal if you help, and hanging a saline glucose drip isn’t too much to ask, right?"

The salesman was quite astute, a seasoned operator judging by his talk and actions, and Zhang Lin gave him a penetrating look.

"Have some morals, stop deceiving other people’s sympathy. I’m not joking; don’t continue with these shameless acts, I really will expose you," Zhang Lin said and walked away, too lazy to deal with these people.

"Doctor—Doctor—It’s not like we’re asking you to pay, what’s with the drama?" the salesman muttered.

These times were really troubled; Yang Ping had just finished discussing Dong Zhikai’s case when he heard Professor Cao downstairs on the phone saying that Ou Lianfeng had come again.

Ou Lianfeng was delighted to take the diagnostic report back to the factory to ask for compensation, but the factory flatly denied the report, insisting that Sanbo Hospital had no qualification to diagnose occupational diseases and that this diagnosis didn’t count. This made Ou Lianfeng anxious, having undergone surgery and opened his chest to check his lungs, it was all for naught. Moreover, the factory threatened to hold both Sanbo Hospital and its doctors legally responsible.

With nowhere left to turn, Ou Lianfeng returned to Sanbo Hospital. He went to the Surgical Research Institute to explain the situation to Yang Ping. This time, he was in complete despair, lifeless like a piece of wood, his eyes vacant. He really felt trapped.

Yang Ping immediately reported the situation to Dean Xia, who responded, "Professor Yang, you don’t need to worry about this. Let Ou Lianfeng come to me; I will help him solve it."

Dean Xia’s reporter friends had already briefed him on the situation. The reporter followed Ou Lianfeng to the factory, where he almost got beaten up, as the factory flatly denied ever employing Ou Lianfeng.