Medical Treatment in Indonesia

**ohmdafyd** · 22-03-10, 13:39

For those who may think the Medical facilities here and the abilities and ethics of some of the Doctors and Hospitals at least, are excellent, this link quoting the sometimes tragic experiences of individuals may enlighen you.
The article on Diagnostic fraud and Surgery for profit is particularly disturbing...

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2...r-patient.html

**marcus** · 22-03-10, 18:29

I normally don't rely on doctors . What I see in my country is that so many of the students at the age to enter an university prefer to study medicine , because doctors are the ones who earn more money than any other , in average . So a big percentage of the doctors there are primarily interested in becoming rich . I don't know about Indonesia , but I think surgery here is relatively expensive and I am very cautious with the doctors prescriptions .

**stt_cibubur** · 22-03-10, 18:52

After reading the link from Om..the husband was bit stupid too..if his wife keep complaining about back pain, why didn't he act and requested for CT scan ( post operation) himself rather than waiting to be told by doctor!!!
I always curious and asking as much as I can and become Yapper IF I am not satisfied and the doctors explanation does not match with the Scan result...

**ohmdafyd** · 22-03-10, 19:04

I don't in the main either Marcus tho' I do have regular contact with my Australian Doctors for reviews of a current Medical condition.
I did consult with a local Specialist in the Executive part of a Specialist Hospital with a supposedly good reputation here recently and her ignorance in some Medical matters astounded me!
I ended up having to educate her on the dangers of one particular Medicine which she prescribed for me, and her examination was totally inadequate, I could have done a better job myself. Tho' I must say my bule status gave me the Royal carpet treatment including a personally guided tour of the facility whilst her other patients had to sit and wait longer I might add...
Note; It seems you and I are the only two who are reasonably concious of our health and take an interest in what is going on within Indonesia, interesting, perhaps having Insurance gives a false sense of security to those with it. I wonder if they really know about what actually happens with a stroke or Cardiac arrest here, I would be dead before the ambulance, if it arrived at all, ever got to me, hence istriku's education of CPR... thump on the chest like this so many times then, and then blow into the mouth twice! What, tidak apa2 berapa kali ini if you forget, just bloody do it any way you can... and if it's a major stroke, just put a pillow over my face and hold it there for 5 mins ...

**ohmdafyd** · 22-03-10, 19:11

Originally Posted by stt_cibubur

After reading the link from Om..the husband was bit stupid too..if his wife keep complaining about back pain, why didn't he act and requested for CT scan ( post operation) himself rather than waiting to be told by doctor!!!
I always curious and asking as much as I can and become Yapper IF I am not satisfied and the doctors explanation does not match with the Scan result...

Even in the West many people will not question their Doctors, a phenomena that I'm glad to say is being slowly overcome and actually encouraged by a younger generation of Medicos.
Here on the other hand, the old cliche of Doctors are Gods don't question them is still mainstream.
Do you really think they would have orderred another scan and taken the risk of proving themselves wrong, it's quite probable they knew the woman was paralysed before they stitched her back up again, In fact I'm sure of it!

**stt_cibubur** · 22-03-10, 20:34

Originally Posted by omdafyd

Even in the West many people will not question their Doctors, a phenomena that I'm glad to say is being slowly overcome and actually encouraged by a younger generation of Medicos.
Here on the other hand, the old cliche of Doctors are Gods don't question them is still mainstream.
Do you really think they would have orderred another scan and taken the risk of proving themselves wrong, it's quite probable they knew the woman was paralysed before they stitched her back up again, In fact I'm sure of it!

Well...in that case I am the rebel..LOL...I will question every single word come out from the doctors/nurses...If I am paying lots of money I want to know everything....The procedures, the medicines, the treatments, the side effect, etc.

**kverz** · 22-03-10, 20:54

For a real experience, just recently (two weeks ago ) I deliver my baby and had C section cut. After the one hour operation, I was so relieved and very thankful to my doctor who studied and practiced medicine in Australia. Then came a nurse to check my blood pressure, she said my blood pressure is 200 over 100 and its too high but I was a bit hesitant since I didnt really felt the symptoms for having high BP. After she is gone my mum- who is a doctor from back home, took out her own BP apparatus and checked my BP, it was normal but few mins later, the nurse came back with the medicine,and mum seeing the medicine told me don't take that, that's for lowering your BP. I asked for the head nurse to recheck my BP and it was after all, just normal.. A silly mistake that can be fatal. What if I took it?! My BP will collapse. What if my mum
was not there? Scary thought...

And another bad experience, my aunt was in the most expensive hospital in Semarang for weeks and they said she only had gastritis. I flew ASAP from the Philippines to see her and I cant believe what I saw- She is already in edematous state- retaining water in her body. I checked her chemistry result ( I can read since Im a med tech by education) and saw that her liver profile and kidney profile is 4 times the normal value. I asked the doctor and they said she needs operation because she have stones in her bladder. I know for sure that if she will be cut, she wont survive. I immediately flew her back to the Philippines the next day and was diagnose of having Multiple Myeloma- a very rare blood disease. In fact, the hospital in semarang had the machine and the result for the test specific for Multiple Myeoloma but her doctor was not able to read it or maybe they cant...

**Davita** · 22-03-10, 21:19

Originally Posted by omdafyd

... and if it's a major stroke, just put a pillow over my face and hold it there for 5 mins ...

OK Om....Please tell the missus...'I will be there' to the tune of.......

Dr. Jack Kevorkian.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian

If we can we have an Expat in Indo discount..... count me in !

David

**ohmdafyd** · 22-03-10, 21:36

Originally Posted by Davita

OK Om....Please tell the missus...'I will be there' to the tune of.......

Dr. Jack Kevorkian.....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian

If we can we have an Expat in Indo discount..... count me in !

David

Here is our Australian counterpart in the link below ... Actually for me, this is a very serious topic having worked with the aged and observed first hand many uneccesarily slow and lingerring deaths, I can remember one in particular to this day.
I know what Mx to organise, it's mainly a question of assistance as that's often needed when the time comes to make the decision for those whose awareness and beliefs allow them the freedom of making it.
But I digress as usual ...

http://www.exitinternational.net/

**Pimpin** · 23-03-10, 02:43

I saw a program recently that claimed many more lives are being saved by compressing down one after another and so on onto the chest not using artificial respiration. It is apparently more effective to keep on pumping as opposed to pausing and blowing into the patients mouth. Here is what I found through Wikipedia:

Compression only resuscitation / Cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR)
The traditional International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation approach described above has been challenged in recent years by advocates for compression-only CPR, also known as cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR). This technique is simply chest compressions without artificial respiration. The respiration component of CPR has been a topic of major controversy over the past decade. The CCR method has been championed by the University of Arizona's Sarver Heart Center. A study by the university[21] claimed a 300% greater success rate over standard CPR.[22] The exceptions were in the case of drowning or drug overdose.
In March 2007, a Japanese study in the medical journal The Lancet presented strong evidence that compressing the chest, not mouth-to-mouth (MTM) ventilation, is the key to helping someone recover from cardiac arrest.[23] An editorial by Gordon Ewy MD (a proponent of CCR) in the same issue of The Lancet called for an interim revision of the ILCOR Guidelines based on the results of the Japanese study, but the next scheduled revision of the Guidelines was not until 2010. However, on March 30, 2008, the American Heart Association broke away from the ILCOR position and stated that compression-only CPR works as well as, and sometimes better than, traditional CPR.[24]
The method of delivering chest compressions remains the same, as does the rate (100 per minute), but the rescuer delivers only the compression element which, the University of Arizona claims, keeps the bloodflow moving without the interruption caused by MTM respiration. It has also been claimed that the use of compression only delivery increases the chances of lay person delivering CPR.[25]