The Enhanced Doctor-Chapter 449: Is patient lying? (For dependent origination and cessation, and further more)

Chapter 449: Is patient 449 lying? (For dependent origination and cessation, and further more)

"President Liu, any latest news to share?"

As soon as he returned to the emergency center, Wang Chao ran over excitedly.

"Of course there is, fresh off the press. Want me to spill the beans? What will you bribe me with?" Liu Banxia asked with a smirk.

"Um... How explosive is the news on a pain scale level?" Wang Chao hesitated.

"Childbirth level," Liu Banxia responded nonchalantly.

"Deal, I’ll add a chicken leg!" Wang Chao’s eyes lit up.

Liu Banxia leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

The twinkle in Wang Chao’s eyes slowly disappeared, and he gave Liu Banxia a bitter look.

The interns, who were secretly watching, couldn’t help but laugh. It was obvious that Teacher Wang had been tricked once again by Teacher Liu.

"Miao Rui, go and summon Doctor Wang from Cardiology, Dr. Chen from Cardiothoracic Surgery, Dr. Chen from Pediatrics, and Sister Li," Liu Banxia instructed.

Miao Rui nodded and rushed off to fetch them.

"There’s a slight issue to address. I’d like to take a few minutes of everyone’s time," Liu Banxia said once everyone was present.

"There seems to be a surge in medical insurance fraud, especially among the in-patients. We need to be more vigilant about it during our evaluation of patients; otherwise, it would be highly embarrassing if the insurance agency catches us."

"For something this minor, he still scammed a chicken leg out of me. How am I supposed to verify that?" Wang Chao responded with a bitter smile.

"This issue is indeed a headache for all of us, particularly for the In-patient Department," Liu Banxia replied.

"There aren’t any foolproof solutions. We just have to cross-check thoroughly at the time of registration and ask additional questions during the patient’s evaluation. We can only do our best. Even I have a tough time figuring it out."

"During evaluations, we focus primarily on the patient’s state of health, so we don’t have time to scrutinize their physical appearance. This is relatively easier with male patients, but with female patients, who knows what they might think."

"On that note, I want to emphasize the importance of professionalism. We haven’t faced any issues here so far, but the In-patient Department has recorded incidents of staff behaving poorly, using their phones, or jumping queues."

"But there’s also this: successfully fulfilling our duties is what matters. If you encounter unreasonable troublemakers, don’t indulge them. Who has that much time to waste on them?"

"Take the incident Sister Li encountered last time. Rumors can easily get twisted. Before you know it, people might say our nurse gave the old lady diarrhea. No one considers how absurd that sounds; they only spread what grabs attention."

"However, if you find yourself in a similar situation, don’t try to handle it alone. Just come to me. That’s what I’m here for. In a dispute, I’ve never backed down before."

At his words, everyone burst into laughter. It was true. He’d never shied away from a confrontation, be it in the old emergency department or the current emergency center. Now, the Medical Affairs Department dreaded any complaints about him.

"It’s almost New Year’s. I won’t bore you with a long speech. I know you all have your hands full. Let’s finalize the dinner menu ASAP. Work is important, but so is good food. Wang Chao, don’t forget to add in my chicken leg," Liu Banxia added.

Wang Chao seemed more depressed. This chicken leg felt like a cheap bribe now, and he couldn’t object.

The issue with the medical insurance was indeed serious. If there were too many errors, they might lose their designated status. But this information really wasn’t worth a chicken leg. He’d have to be more careful next time.

After the brief meeting, everyone dispersed.

However, Wang Huan didn’t leave immediately. "You’re back just in time," he said. "I just examined a 16-year-old patient experiencing abdominal and back pain. His abdomen was soft; Murphy’s sign was negative, and so was McBurney’s point. The ultrasound didn’t show any issues."

"He’s currently getting a CT scan of his abdomen to check if there’s anything the ultrasound missed. But what I’m not sure about right now is, is he faking illness because his father won’t let him play and has signed him up for tuition classes instead?"

"He’s usually fine, but whenever he has to go to tuition, his stomach starts hurting. All examinations are normal, so I have to share this dilemma with you."

"Let’s wait for the CT results. It’s really hard to say right now," Liu Banxia replied.

"Like the patient I took over from orthopedics last time. He was diagnosed with Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome, which isn’t easy to detect."

Wang Huan nodded. "When I examined him, he also complained of upper abdominal pain, not at the xiphoid process, but around the navel."

"The father and son seemed similar to the mother and daughter last time; they also argued during the examination. But they weren’t suspicious of the kid dating, just said he wasn’t studying hard and didn’t want to attend the expensive tuition classes."

"I feel like running tuition classes now makes more money than being a doctor. Even a single class earns a huge sum of money," Liu Banxia responded.

"Your daughter, did she sign up for an English class too? Is there any need to rush things in eighth grade? She should learn Russian. Qing Kewa is a ready-made teacher."

"Late? She’s actually a bit behind. She should have started younger," Wang Huan replied ruefully.

"English is a make-or-break subject for her overall score. She’ll be in ninth grade next year, and if she wants to get into a good high school, how can she manage without some subjects she excels in? Even for self-funded admission, if you don’t have strong subjects, they won’t take you no matter how much money you offer."

"Sometimes I really feel for my daughter. She’s already nearsighted, even though we’ve been careful. But as troubled as I am, what can I do about it? It’s related to her future life, after all."

"Your sister-in-law and I can only do so much for her. We’re not hoping she’ll take care of us in the future; we just want her to have a comfortable life. That alone surpasses anything else."

"Well, it’s tough for her to live comfortably. Generations always worry about the ones after. When the time comes, she will be just as worried about her children as you are now. Where can she actually find comfort?" Liu Banxia said with a laugh.

Wang Huan was taken aback and shook his head helplessly.

That’s really how it is. They’re caught in an unending cycle of worry.

Only children like those of Liu Banxia and Qiaoqiao, who don’t have any life pressures, can live comfortably.

Some argue that their children can perform well even without attending extra classes because their children are smart. Our children aren’t at that level yet.

So, even if it breaks our hearts to see them stressed, we have to stay the course. It’s even harder when they’re in their senior year of high school. The high school entrance examination is just a warm-up by comparison.

"By the way, in a few days, the internal medicine department will have more positions, and by then, you and Brother Hui won’t have to work so hard," Liu Banxia said.

"Actually, it’s not so bad. The clinic’s workload isn’t that heavy now. A lot of it has been diverted to your interns. It’s more about sticking to the schedule, not about being physically exhausting," said Wang Huan.

At this point, the father and son returned, holding a CT scan.

After inserting the CT scan into the viewer, Liu Banxia frowned. The examination was negative; there were no problems.

"And here are the results of the stool, urine, and blood tests," the patient’s father said.

Wang Huan took them, looked them over carefully, and handed them to Liu Banxia. After reviewing them, Liu Banxia frowned even more deeply. All the current test results were negative. From the results, one could say that the patient was extremely healthy.

Liu Banxia looked at the patient, a quiet young man with glasses. He didn’t look like someone who would lie about abdominal pain to get out of attending extra classes.

"Doctor, is he faking his illness? Now he says he doesn’t feel pain at all. We wasted money at the hospital for nothing. If he’s not wasting the family’s money, he’s not content," the patient’s father said.

The patient turned his head away without saying a word.

Wang Huan glanced at Liu Banxia. It was up to him to decide what to do. In his judgment, there were no other tests they could do.

Unless they performed an angiogram, but that seemed a bit of a stretch. There was no clear indication or even a suspected area for it.

"How long have you been experiencing this intermittent pain?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Probably more than half a month now. I get pain for a period each day," the patient replied.

"It started when you began going to the tuition classes! You never complained of pain when you didn’t go. If you didn’t want to attend, you should have said so. We paid the fees, and you didn’t show up. Do you think money grows on trees?" the patient’s father fumed.

"Please calm down. Your son seems very composed; he doesn’t seem like the type to lie. Is his academic performance good in school?" Liu Banxia asked.

"Sigh... If he didn’t understand anything, his mother and I wouldn’t care. There are many ways to make a living, right? But because he does well in school, placing in the top five in his class, or at least in the top eight, we have to support him, even if it costs a lot," the patient’s father said.

"In the future, we don’t want our child to blame us, his parents, for not having had the means to support his potential. He shouldn’t miss the chance to attend a good university just because our family is poor and it held him back."

"I’m not one to fuss over money; it’s just that this tuition class fee seems like such a waste. Every time class starts, he complains of stomach pain. Wouldn’t it be better to use that money to buy him meat, clothes, and shoes rather than just throwing it away?"

Upon hearing his father’s words, the patient took off his glasses and began to wipe away his tears.

Liu Banxia gave Wang Huan a meaningful look. It was time to separate the father and son; otherwise, they would interfere with the subsequent diagnosis.

"Are you feeling wronged?" After Wang Huan took the father aside, Liu Banxia pulled out a tissue and handed it to the boy. Wiping his tears and snot, the boy nodded.

"It’s a universal truth that parents worry about their children. They always want the best for their kids; sometimes they just don’t know how to say it or express it," Liu Banxia said.

"Is your abdominal pain very regular? Does it happen at almost the same time every day? Is it the kind of pain that comes on suddenly?"

The boy frowned. "Not really that regular. Sometimes it starts early, sometimes late. Initially, it doesn’t hurt that much, then it gradually gets more painful, to the point of making me sweat when it’s at its worst. Then, once that bout passes, the pain suddenly goes away."

DING! Task issued: Is the patient lying?

Open-ended task: The patient’s stated symptoms seem suspicious. The host needs to determine the truth. Task rewards will be issued based on the diagnostic result.

Seeing the task appear, Liu Banxia also felt a headache coming on, because right now, even he couldn’t determine what was really going on with the boy.