Where The Hell Am I?: Yonsei University Serverance Hospital

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Okay, I Lied

Okay, I lied. That previous "Last Shout Out" post wasn't my last shout out. And, learning from that, I'll only go as far as saying this ~might~ be my last shout out to the awesomeness that is the South Korean medical system. Who knows what might happen between now and getting on the plane.

I had a few things on my list I wanted to get done before leaving. One was to go through the gauntlet of medical exams I have to get that ranged from exams everyone ought to get on a regular basis to the specialized ones I need because of my two auto-immune conditions.

However, there are other things. I figured out when I got here that prescription eye glasses can be a bit less expensive out of pocket than back home. I'm near sighted, so for most things, I don't need glasses. However, even though I rarely drive in the States, I do sometimes and I ought to wear glasses when I do. It's not required...yet, but why take chances? I got two pair of mad stylish frames and prescription lenses yesterday for less than I'd pay out of pocket for the same frames back home. Frame shops are everywhere in Korea. If you're curious, I'll say I got mine in Myeongdong in the underground center next to Lotte Department Store, and I probably paid more than I would have if I'd gone to a different part of town. I just wanted something on the high end of the style scale and, frankly, I'm out of time. So I went where I know the drill.

Also, regular readers know that I got a bad toothache over the summer that ended up being a deep cavity that needed filling and during the treatment, which took a few days, I ended up loosing the temporary filling. That required a late night run to Yonsei's Dental Hospital. My love for my primary dentist dimmed over time because, like a lot of medical professionals, he was much more used to talking than listening. Also, I think just being in pain and having him take that pain away caused a bit of euphoria. This all happened about 8 months ago, so it was time for another dental cleaning. Yonsei was definitely where I was going to go.

It was easy. I called the day before and was told to just come in, no appointment required. I got there and asked where to go. I was escorted upstairs, even though I asked the woman to just tell me, she insisted leading me upstairs to the second floor. I payed for the initial visit, went back down to the first floor and waited maybe 10 minutes to see a dentist. He checked my medical history and asked me the basics. There was a bit of running for x-rays and a blood pressure check. A thorough exam, including a bit of consulting with senior dentists, proved things were normal to his satisfaction and he put me through a fairly gentle dental scaling. I'm sure some of you have experienced the teeth cleaning that felt like it was done by Marquis de Sade. I've got to say this was almost painless - not completely, but almost. After, I went back to the second floor cashier to pay up for the x-rays and scaling. Virtually painless.

So for those I'm leaving behind and to those that will find this after I'm gone, when you need your teeth cleaned (that's every six months, BTW - yes, the Freakeconmics guys might not agree), try Yonsei's Dental Hospital (click the picture to go to their home page, then click "English" if you need to). It's new, it's huge and you can easily get lost but the basic services are on the first two floors and there are enough staff members who speak enough English to point you in the right direction.

Health care in Seoul, South Korea Rocks!

You know what? Americans tend to be incredibly arrogant most of the times it seems. However, don’t take it that I'm bashing American’s only, because I’ve found that Europeans and Canadians aren't much better. However, as I'm an American so most of my observations are about other Americans. Why am I making this observation?

Well, I remember when I first considered moving to South Korea. Friends of mine freaked out for all sorts of reasons, but the biggest one was my health as they were concerned about the quality of health care that would be here for me. It was assumed that South Korea was a country that had to be in the virtual stone ages. Now I realize that the standards of living in America versus some other places is huge, but modern South Korea is very advanced and, in some ways, more advanced than the States.

I’m an insulin dependent diabetic. I have juvenile diabetes, but I was lucky as I started showing symptoms and was diagnosed fairly late on. As a result, I was admitted to Cedars-Sinai. I had the best doctor and nurses, and, overall I just had a wonderful experience. That gave me a great start on diabetes management. When I started working I had an HMO and had an okay doctor. However, I soon found out that without money and insurance that the well runs dry very fast. I was okay initially, but in law school I didn't have health insurance and with a pre-existing condition any I'd find would be expensive or would exclude coverage for, my diabetes, the one thing I needed to insure. I had a close call that was very scary, but after law school once again got lucky and had an excellent physician when I had another HMO.

Here in Korea I’m covered under their social health care system. I call it the health care discount system because that’s essentially what it is. I don’t have a deductible or a co-pay. They just take a certain percentage off the total of your bill. Since I’m diabetic and I have an insulin pump, I go to my doctor at Hanyang University Hospital doctor once a month. My doctor, Dr. Ahn, is awesome. My nurse, Ms. Koo, is the best nurse I’ve ever had. Once a month I get a full spectrum of blood work, a prescription refill (my meds are around $15.00 a month), and consultation with my doctor. I have to say that one big reason I like South Korea is because, if you find the right doctor, the health care here is great. Best of all, it’s affordable.

That leads me to why I’m discussing this now. I’m working and I fell down face first on the pavement walking with my class. I noticed a bloody cut on my hand and got that taken care of right away. However, I didn’t notice that something had gotten into my eye until it was Sunday and I was home in Seoul. To make a long story short, I ended up with a scratched cornea.

Ouch!!! It’s horrible.

I went to Yonsei Severance Hospital simply because I was in a huge amount of pain, and I knew I’d have the least trouble there as a high amount of their staff is bilingual. I speak enough Korean to put most Koreans at ease and then usually they’ll notice that my Korean isn’t up to speed and get me help.

It cost me roughly $50.00 (or 50,000 Korean won). They took me into the triage section and asked me what happened and got my medical history. Then they took me in to flush out my eye with sterile saline which was incredibly painful. I was then referred to an ophthalmologist who did a comprehensive eye exam and discovered that I’d scratched my cornea. He explained what he’d prescribe for me and what I should and shouldn’t do. He also prescribed me a stack of drugs and gave me a shot of antibiotics to ensure that I won’t get an infection. So on top of my $50.00 I had to pay around $15.00 for the huge sack of drugs I received on the way out of the ER.

Now I’m walking around with gauze taped over my eye, a big sack full of drugs and a somewhat boring story of falling over onto my face at work. But what I have is my peace of mind that if something goes wrong I can afford to go to the ER. I have access to great medical care that I can afford.

I can’t say I feel the same way when I’m living and working at home in the States.

That’s just incredibly sad.

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Wednesday, August 9th - Update

For those of you who've asked, I'm doing much better and the patch is off. Here is a picture to prove it. These pictures were taken at 천안 역, Cheonan Station, in South Korea as I've been doing a short-term job there. So this is chipper me at the end of the work day sweltering on the platform waiting for my train. I commute one hour each way everyday because even though I have accommodation in Cheonan it doesn't have air conditioning and my apartment in Seoul does. Plus, there is the benefit of no hyper campers knocking on my door; the kids tend to like me. Plus, I don't have a roommate to worry about at home.

Anyway, all is well with my eye for now.