This Doctor Is Too Wealthy

Du Heng typed a few words on Fan Yuxiang’s medical record, added a note about his follow-up medication, and said to Fan Yuxiang, ”Alright, go get your medicine from the Pharmacy and continue taking the same medicine as before. I’ve prescribed three courses of treatment for you. After completing them, come back for a check-up, and I’ll adjust your prescription.”

”Do I not need to be hospitalized?”

”No, you’ve been taking the medication promptly these past few days, and your symptoms have significantly improved. You can recuperate at home.”

”Thank you, Doctor Du, thank you.”

Fan Yuxiang thanked Du Heng once again. He thinks Doctor Du is trying to save me money by not hospitalizing me.

But that thought was unfair to Du Heng.

It was mainly because his current condition indeed did not require hospitalization. If it had been three days earlier, hospitalization would have been mandatory, and Du Heng wouldn’t have dared to let him leave.

”Oh, and this time, take your medication twice a day. Don’t take too much of it.”

”I’ll remember that, Doctor Du.”

Du Heng thought for a moment and continued, ”How about this: take the examination report from the Pulmonary Hospital and apply for the Chronic disease outpatient reimbursement system. This way, a greater quantity of your medication will be covered, and at a higher reimbursement rate.”

Fan Yuxiang became excited. For him, every cent saved helped. ”Doctor Du, is there really such a reimbursement? Where can I apply for it?”

Du Heng had heard Li Qingde mention this reimbursement project once at a meeting. However, he wasn’t sure about the specifics.

But this type of application definitely wouldn’t be handled at the Health Clinic. So Du Heng thought for a moment and said, ”Take all your documents and go to the District Hospital to inquire. Generally, such procedures are handled there. If they don’t handle it, it’s likely processed by the Health Bureau. Just go and ask; they will tell you.”

Fan Yuxiang thanked Du Heng profusely before leaving. Du Heng watched him depart with a heavy heart.

Truth be told, the Chinese herbal medicine Du Heng prescribed for Fan Yuxiang amounted to just over a hundred yuan for three courses of treatment. The commission Du Heng would receive would be only about ten to twenty yuan. If Fan Yuxiang applied for outpatient reimbursement, Du Heng’s take might be reduced to only a few yuan, or even mere dimes.

However, Du Heng didn’t care about this small commission. His current target was the 50,000 yuan from the system; he wouldn’t bother with such paltry sums.

Besides, he genuinely hoped to help his patients.

Although applying for outpatient reimbursement would only save a few dozen yuan per medication refill and consultation, for patients with chronic diseases like emphysema from rural families like Fan Yuxiang’s, it would add up to a substantial amount over time.

After sending Fan Yuxiang away, Du Heng glanced at the system and saw that the progress was still at 3/1000. He completely lost hope.

The system’s calculation standard is clear: the same patient with the same disease won’t be counted twice.

Du Heng sighed briefly. Seeing Wu Buwei with his head down, reading again, he got up to find Li Qingde.

He wanted to take over the township-wide health records project, as it was directly related to how quickly he could get that 50,000 yuan.

At that moment, Li Qingde was looking at the Whole Township Administrative Map, having already selected the villages for Zhang Jinlian to visit.

Although I can’t assign all these villages to Zhang Jinlian, I can certainly give her the most remote and inaccessible ones.

Seeing the circled locations on the map, Li Qingde smiled happily to himself.

After this round, Zhang Jinlian will surely lose a good deal of weight. Moreover, I’ve prepared plenty of little tricks for her, like incomplete personnel registrations and patchy disease records. I won’t feel vindicated unless she has to make at least three or four trips. If she dares to refuse or shirk her duties... Li Qingde smirked inwardly. In the past, I truly had no way to deal with this shrew. But now, I only have three months left at the Zhonghu Town Health Clinic. Come June, I’ll be transferred to be a Dean elsewhere, so I won’t have to fear her showing up at my door to make a scene. If she dares to slack off during these three months, just watch me sort her out!

”Dean, not too busy, I hope?” Du Heng said cheerfully as he pushed the door open.

Li Qingde casually closed the administrative map and looked at Du Heng with a wide smile.

This was the second time Du Heng had impressed him, and his opinion of the young doctor was steadily improving, especially since his own relative had recovered and been discharged from the hospital. That had elevated his perception of Du Heng significantly.

During his five years in office, Li Qingde had always thought Du Heng was like the others, just coasting along and waiting for payday.

He never expected that in the last two weeks, particularly in just four short days, he would feel like he was getting to know this young man anew.

He has drive and a sense of responsibility. Even his medical skills are notable among the grassroots medical institutions in the Shanghu District.

Li Qingde was fifty-one years old. He had worked in no fewer than five health clinics in the Shanghu District and had served as Dean in three of them. Furthermore, he regularly attended district meetings and often interacted with other Health Clinic deans, so he was quite familiar with their medical standards.

So now, the more he observed Du Heng, the more he liked him.

”Ah, Xiao Du. What brings you here?”

”It’s about the health records.”

Li Qingde laughed heartily. ”Don’t worry, I’ve arranged some relatively closer villages for you. As for remote places like Mubangou, I plan to let Dr. Zhang handle those.”

As he spoke, he gave a knowing smile, then adopted a serious expression. ”Mubangou and similar places are quite remote. Villagers there generally don’t go to the hospital when they’re sick, so many have accumulated chronic conditions over the years. Dr. Zhang is more mature and experienced than you; I’d feel more at ease with her going.”

Upon hearing Li Qingde’s arrangements, Du Heng immediately realized the Dean had misunderstood him and quickly explained, ”Dean, what I was thinking is, could I take responsibility for establishing the health records for the entire township?”

”What?” Li Qingde’s eyes flickered; he thought he’d misheard. Establishing health records for the entire township’s population is no small task!

”I want to take over the health records project for the entire township and complete it by myself.”

”Xiao Du, are you in your right mind?”

”Dean, I’m serious.”

Li Qingde pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Du Heng, but Du Heng didn’t smoke and declined it.

Li Qingde didn’t mind. He lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. Why would Du Heng want to take on the entire project? It’s exhausting work with little financial reward or recognition. Doing it well would just be fulfilling his basic duties, but doing it poorly would lead to disciplinary action.

”Can you tell me why?”

Why? Du Heng thought. I need to increase my number of disease records! I want that 50,000 yuan salary from the system! I despise the Health Clinic’s 4,000 yuan salary, and I can’t bear it any longer. I want to get rich! But he couldn’t say that aloud. If he did, Li Qingde would probably think he had a mental illness and send him straight to Jinzhou Third Hospital.

”Dean,” Du Heng said, ”I feel my skills still need improvement. This project of creating health records for the whole township will not only expose me to many medical cases I’ve never encountered but also help me identify my shortcomings in actual treatment. This way, I can make targeted improvements and serve the ordinary people more effectively and safely in the future.”

Look at how dedicated this young man is! Behind the veil of cigarette smoke, Li Qingde’s face showed his full approval and satisfaction. He couldn’t help but believe Du Heng’s words. After all, apart from such a noble aspiration, what else could he possibly gain from this? Make money from it? Heh, as if villagers would pay a registration fee after a home visit!