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Hospital policy for AH1N1 testing sucks
Yesterday, I brought my sister who had a bad case of allergies in the emergency room of San Juan De Dios. I think it is a private hospital for low to mid-income earners living in Pasay City.
At the ER while waiting for my sister’s results, I can’t help but to overhear what the other patients are there for. Flu.
A lot of the people inside the room were wearing surgical masks for fear of contracting or spreading the flu virus.
How much for the AH1N1 test?
In order for a flu patient to be subjected for swabbing to test for AH1N1 virus, a blood count must be conducted first. If the WBC (white blood cell) count is low, it means that the flu is viral and the patient needs to be tested.
That’s what happened to some patients, they were offered to test for the AH1N1 virus but for a fee of a whopping Php5,500. P4,500 is the cheapest and is performed at RITM in Alabang.
I can see it in their eyes as they contemplate on shelling out P5,500 for a test that may be negative or just suck it up and go home hoping that the flu will go away eventually.
During the whole morning, only 1 out of 5 opted for the swab test and she had to reluctantly withdraw money from a nearby ATM machine. The other 4 went home after signing a waiver that they refused to take a swab test from the hospital.
Way to go
Good job our ever-helpful government officials! Nice plan on how to control the AH1N1 pandemic. You dwell on scandals while the public couldn’t get adequate support for AH1N1 tests.
By making the test expensive and impractical for low income-earners you are forcing them to self-medicate at home and create a big chance to spread the virus.
Imagine a mother of 4 with no regular job paying P5.5k of her hard-earned money just to see if one of her kid has the virus. If it’s negative, they would probably die of hunger. If it’s positive, they would be in debt and still die of hunger.
The AH1N1 test is also not being covered by HMO anymore. At least our HMO don’t. After the government raised the alert level to 6, our HMO stopped paying for the test.
Consolation prize
It’s funny when I heard the nurse told one of the patients at the ER that if she is tested positive, they would refund her P3,000.
What’s that for? Pampalubag loob? I’m sorry to inform that you have the swine flu but here’s P3,000 to help you with your soon-to-be humongous hospital and medical bills.
I don’t know if this is the case for all hospitals but I would be happy if I’m wrong. This kind of policy should be reviewed and the government should subsidize the testing.
Like the guy with the moustache keeps on saying, “Terriblé!”
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Filed under: Grrrrr, Health & Lifestyle
Hi Calvin,
That really sucks, instead of giving Php 20 Million to each con-ass kissers (congressmen)…swab tests should be given free and mandatory at all places….Now you know why we are the No. 1 country in Asia….way back in 1920 GRRRR…
God Bless!!
calvin: yeah, seriously our health officials should review this policy and do something about it. ano ba number ng bayan mo ipatrol mo.
Terrible!
There is really no need for people to have the throat swab test for AH1N1. It’s such a mild disease, even milder than the common flu. Worldwide, the common flu kills more than half a million persons a year compared to AH1N1 which, as of June 21, 2009, has caused only 167 deaths out of 44,000+ infected persons (with a fatality rate of 0.41%).
Out of the 860+ persons infected in the Philippines, there has been only one AH1N1 related death(1% fatality rate). It would be such a waste of money if the people or the government would pay 4.5K for each person undergoing such test. As of now, the only ones who are prioritized to have the test are those who are having severe respiratory signs and symptoms, immunocompromised, extremely young or old ( 60 yrs old) and those with accompanying conditions such as COPD, asthma, diabetes and heart diseases.
We should put our focus and resources into more deadly and prevalent infectious diseases such as dengue fever rather than on mild infections such as AH1N1.
I think I head this somewhere too, from a doctor friend, so I think you’re right. So why does the media and government making a big deal out of it? Think they should re-educate the public? Why did the hospital suggested doing the throat swab?
All the information i mentioned, i got from simply reading newspapers and watching local news shows which is about the minimum one should do to be informed about AH1N1. And all those info were press releases from DOH.
As to your other question, maybe the said hospital is still unaware of the most recent guideline of the DOH regarding the throat swab testing for AH1N1. Said guideline has been posted in the DOH website since June 24, 2009 and the gist of said guideline has been broadcasted in the local news telecasts since June 26, 2009. It’s really up to the citizenry keep themselves informed because the DOH has been providing the necessary info through newspapers, radio and TV in order to allay the fears and paranoia of the people regarding AH1N1 epidemic.
I would like to make a correction. Presently, AH1N1 has a fatality rate of 0.1%, not 1%, in the Philippines (1 death/860 infected patients)
As I write this comment, my sister is on the way to the hospital for swab testing. They say that the price here in Bataan is P4,500 and if you are “lucky” enough to test POSITIVE, they will refund 100% of your payment. No wonder nag-balloon talaga ang case dito sa Pinas. Anong klaseng sistema yan.