Went in with nausea and vomiting. I was prescribed 15 x Zofran tablets. Now I get a bill for R1330.00 for 15 pills.

Turns out Zofran are prescribed for preventing cancer chemotherapy-induced
nausea and vomiting.

http://www.zofran.com/cinv_iv.htm

I don't have cancer. Talk about overkill.

Netcare you are just a bunch of cons.

A Cuban doctor maybe?

Dude Hospitals are all a bunch of cons. A very well known Medical Clinic here in Cape Town is a prime example. The doctors have shares in the hospital. A relative of mine went there with some chest pain. Well after a TRIPPLE BYPASS it turns out that a lot of people end up having to have a "BYPASS" when going there with even minor chest pain. One guy was told he would be dead in a month if he does not have it. He refused. Its now 2 years later and he has never been better. The cost of the average Bypass = about R100 000 a pop. Doctors making a killing ?

Hectic stuff Zofran

Dude, take your complaint to the hospital if they ignore it, go further and go to govt level or just let carte blanch know

Okay...so their financial manager is going to speak to their general manager and I should have a call back tomorrow.

I feel for anyone undergoing chemotherapy because these pills do zip for standard nausea so I can't imagine them doing much for chemotherapy-induced nausea.

The pills are almost 100 bucks a pop. Hmm...I got 9 left selling for 50 bucks a pop. Any takers???

Man this should be one for BEWARE OF ALL PRIVATE HOSPITALS!!!

Can you believe that they would refuse to treat a dying patient unless you flash some green in their face!!!! they they woudl only admit you????!?!?! WTF My dad had a anurysm last year and WTF did the hospital do?



WTF?!?!?!?! AT 1 hour to midnight Where the F#$% am I suppose to DIG 10k out of? no banks in the country would open and the ATM will only let me withdraw 2k!?!?!?

$#%^ HOSPITALS!!!! HOPE YOU ALL BURN IN HELL! ESP THE ADMINISTRATORS!!!!!! THE THE F$#@ DOC THAT TREATED MY DAD I WILL GUN YOU DOWN ONE DAY!!!!!

reminds me of that movie with that guy that hold the fat cat hospital owner under ransom, forcing him to do the operation on his dying son.

Im afraid it all boils down to money though, money > sympathy.

hospitals are shocking.....

when my dad was unwell they even came to the ICU to query our account.... all 'cos those dumb f*cks couldn't sort things out with the medical aid.... i swear i woulda killed the woman if i was there...

they show no pity at times of distress... u gotta be a cold heartless zombie to be in the finance department at a hospital.

Milano : if you are on a medical aid, call your scheme up and ask to speak to a person in clinical auditing, or if possible, the in-house doctor. Explain what happened and ask whether what they did prescribe to you was necessary. If the scheme has to cough up for it they will care a lot.... even if you are paying from savings, they will still not be happy cos it will contribute to your threshold level, after which they will have to pay... and believe me... med aids will do anything to cut costs.

Guys, always check everything when going to a private hospital. I have heard of folk being charged for stuff that was never used on their family members, being charged for more than was used. Please keep in mind that I work in a Path lab taking bloods and even I wonder how the fuck they get away with doing the shit they do. They often do things that I feel aren't necessary or over the top. I wish I had shares in Netcare.

Sorry to hear of your troubles Milano

Here is something funny tho i work for a Netcare hospital and i have seen some really odd things from day one i started working there (started working there about 6 month ago since i cant find a job in IT).And i also noticed that they are always out to make a fast buck on people and wont help u if you dont have the green or the medical aid.

Just be glad Milano that i wasnt one of the docters there cause what i know of health care can be "gevaarlik"

Hey

My mother works for a Netcare hospital and some of the stories she comes home with are appauling. The negligence of these doctors amazes me for people who spend six years of their lives studying something they should have a passion for. It's not only the doctors though, the nurses are far worse and it even goes as far as leaving someone in the bath to die with the boiling hot water running. All this and I havent even touched on the fact that they're only out for the money.
Don't worry, you aren't the only one with proplems with netcare, I think about 5 lawsuits are going on against them at ony one time, from what I hear.

Ya

Yeah how about the most recent story on the news of six babies dying in Bloemfontein hospital because of their stupidity. Anyways why do private hospitals refuse to take patients who forgot their medical aid card at home?

You need to learn to negotiate.

Private hospitals will drop their prices if you bitch about them enough and I mean a big drop in prices.

I think you may find, Valheru, that had it been a Cuban docter the care provided would have been better. Cuban docters are of excellent quality, this as a result of the Cuban medical system.


I am not a fan of private hospitals. Money over people, it makes me angry.

I had a severe allergic reaction to a preservative that was in a microwave-meal. My skin broke out into massive welts, my fingers were so swolen I could not pull a fist and I was in extreme discomfort.

I went to the local private hospital and showed them what was happening. They told me that it was a severe reaction and they knew what to give me. But, it cost R400, money I did not have. They would not even give me the shot with my promise that I would return with the money.

I went to the government hospital andwas helped immediately. It was the most beautiful feeling in the world: as the anti-hystemine entered my body it was instnt relief.

The shot cost me R15.

My case was minor and hardly life-threatening, but one has to wonder how many people with worse prblems are refused medical care as the rusult of a lack of funds.

Private hospitals are wonderful, they have the best faciliies and are staffed by many well trained people. But this should be accessable to all.

As you all know, I believe in free health for all, but before you jump on me, consider from which side you are arguing from: the side that has monay that can afford medical aid and top-class care, or the side unable to afford medical aid and top-class care and, then, consider how you would like to be treated should you find yourself unwell and in the latter of the two groups mentioned above.

END!

What sickens me is the fact that the doctors take the hipocratic (sp?)oath, which, as far as i can remember from a certain tv ad years ago, thye swear to help ALL people in need, and yet they turn people away from the Private Hospitals.

I agree with Driver about free medical care, but to a certain extent. In rural areas, there is no disputing this, as people are poor (in most cases) over there... It should also be so for urban areas, but of course, there is no way that a private hospital will give any free medical treatment...

What also sickens me is that if you are in a critical condition, the private hospital will only stabalise your condition as much as they can, but they will not operate on you if u dont have the funds, but ill instead send you off to the closest government hospital to be operated on, which can be a while off though.

Government hospitals dont offer the best treatment either though... My onw friend's gran fell ill, and ended up at HF Verwoerd in Pta, and even though she had a med aid chain to state that she is allergic to pennicillin, she was injected with the stuff... luckily she survived that episode though.

Money is most def worth more than peoples' lives.

Doogie Howser MD?

Hey driver couldn't you have taken a allegic tablet?

But geez R400 for a injection that would do waht??? is the suringe made of gold?

Which is why people like me pay like 1000 bucks to have descent medical cover (i go to the optometrist allot). And it should not be this way. That is why insurnce and medical aid companies make millnios off people like me.

Yeah, the last med aid that I had wouldn't even pay for all of the fees at the optometrist... The wankers only paid for the consultation, and ONE lense... SOME of the other costs came from my PMA, and the rest out of my own ack pocket... Ahh... the wonders of Bankmed - one of the worst med aids out there...

I know of a friend who has one med aid, and it will only pay out for a max of FIVE doctor's visits per year...

And what does he pay for that one......2k?

i'd rather shovel some green or better whip out the medical aid card than go to a public hospital... have you ever been in a public hospital.... in our hospital they rape old people in their beds.....

Heh... last year it was 1k, but that was before they added Diabetes treatment as chornic treatment... so I dunno how much more they are paying now...

Geez sorta like Kill bill... rape the ppl who are comotose.

Freaking and makes me wanna

I probably could have, Fishfly. But, I suffer from many allergies and do carry an asthma pump with me, it has happened that my klungs close up. With the sped of this reaction and the way it had spread over my body, the quickest and most effective rememdy was a shot.

END!

So the hospital promised that the financial manager would speak to the general manager and call me. Instead the credit controller phones me back and says I can speak to the doctor in charge of casualty.

I speak to him and his whole attitude just sucks. He reckons 'we do not have time to check prices...We prescribe what we believe is required.' So I pretty much gave up on trying to get my full refund on the medication.

Then I checked the price of Zofran at the local pharmacy. Same price, except that they give a 20% discount. So I phone the hospital again, go through to the hospital pharmacy and ask why I can get a 20% discount from my local pharmacy but no discount from the hospital pharmacy.

She tells me that if you walk in off the street with the script then the hospital will give you a 20% discount but my script came from the hospital's casualty ward so therefore no discount is applicable. Where is the sense in this? Surely, if anything, you should be more entitled to a discount because the script came from the hospital? She says it makes no sense to her but this is the system and offers to put me through to the hospital's financial manager for further explanation.

So, I speak to the financial manager. I tell him that 'first of all I want my 20% discount. Once my discount is passed I will pay the bill. Then I will lodge a complaint with the Medical and Dental Council to get my money back'.

Ten minutes later the General Manager of the hospital phones me. I tell him the whole long story and I happen to mention that the pills didn't even work. He seems to jump at this opportunity and says 'I am not in a position to second guess the doctor that prescribed the pills. But if the pills didn't work then you should not have to pay for them. We will perform a journal credit for the pills at R1330.77'. This is really lame (since when do you get a refund because pills do not work?). Anyway, I am happy to get my refund even if they would prefer to hide behind lame excuses then actually admit that the prescription was incorrect.

So, the four magic words with Netcare seem to be 'Medical and Dental Council'.

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