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Chapter 721: Giving Outpatient Consultations

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the Outpatient Department of Yun Hua Hospital was a small sign on the door of the consultation room of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.

Two nameplates could be slotted into the small sign. One stated the position of the doctor, while another contained the name of the doctor. For example, whenever He Yuanzheng was doing outpatient consultation, the two nameplates would state “specialist consultation” and “He Yuanzheng” respectively.

Ranked below “specialist consultation” was “associate chief physician” and “attending physician”. Last but not least, there was also “basic consultation”, which was used to make up the numbers when there were not any higher-ranked doctors around.

The nameplates that stated “associate chief physician” and “attending physician” were self-explanatory, while “basic consultation” was given by various resident doctors. Every now and then, junior attending physicians would also be giving “basic consultation”. They mostly filled in forms to authorize patients for check-ups, prescribe medication, and composed medical certificates that allowed patients to take time off work.

“Specialist consultation” was not just given by chief physicians. According to the custom of Yun Hua Hospital, In Yun Hua Hospital, leaders of treatment groups ranged from department directors to chief physicians and associate chief physicians.

Even though Ling Ran was the leader of a treatment group, as he sat inside the consultation room of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, the nameplate on the door merely stated “basic consultation”.

He Yuanzheng wore a sorry expression as he explained things to Huo Congjun and Ling Ran. “I’m really sorry. We need to obtain prior authorization for a doctor to give ‘specialist consultation’. After all, there’s a price difference. ‘Specialist consultation’ costs 17 RMB while ‘basic consultation’ costs 5 RMB. Even though there’s only a 12 RMB price difference, a lot of people care about it. Department Director Huo, since you didn’t give me prior notice, I couldn’t get it authorized in time…”

As Huo Congjun looked at He Yuanzheng, he said with a smile, “It’s no big deal. There isn’t much of a difference.”

When Huo Congjun suggested that Ling Ran give outpatient consultation yesterday, he had not decided which department Ling Ran should be under. In the end, after listening to Ling Ran’s suggestion, and also considering the fact that the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery was a weak department that was easy to bully, like a soft and mushy persimmon, he decided to place Ling Ran in the consultation room of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.

Ling Ran was adept at orthopedics surgery, hand and foot surgery, general surgery, and liver surgery. The Orthopedics Department and General Surgery Department were top departments in Yun Hua Hospital, and their department directors were also domineering figures. Huo Congjun would need to have a long and amicable discussion with them for them to allow Ling Ran into one of their consultation rooms. The Hand Surgery Department was even more out of the question. It was the ace department of Yun Hua Hospital, and even Huo Congjun had to put on a modest front when dealing with them. Aside from this, most hand surgeries were emergency surgeries instead of scheduled surgeries, so the Hand Surgery Department was not exactly an appropriate department for Ling Ran to learn how to give outpatient consultations.

The Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery was the only one left, and it was indeed the most convenient one.

Huo Congjun did not have to say much to Huo Congjun. He practically sent Ling Ran over before notifying He Yuanzheng, like a passenger who only purchased bus tickets after boarding the bus.

Of course, even though He Yuanzheng was a soft and mushy persimmon, he was not a rotting persimmon. He protested by only letting Ling Ran give “basic consultation”. This proved that he was a soft and mushy persimmon that would only start rotting after a few days.

Huo Congjun did not take this to heart at all. He slotted in the nameplates on Ling Ran’s behalf and said with a smile, “Giving ‘basic consultation’ isn’t really the same as giving outpatient consultation in the Emergency Department. Why don’t you learn the ropes and familiarize yourself with things first? Moreover, you can give consultations whenever there are patients, and read some books when there isn’t any patient. You can take the opportunity to get used to how outpatient consultations work.”

He Yuanzheng’s mood became a little better when he saw that his protest was successful. He flashed a smile and said, “When I was younger, my teacher told me that giving outpatient consultations is an opportunity to train your patience. This depends on whether there are patients around. When I used to give outpatient consultations, I wrote three research papers in the first year itself.”

Even though He Yuanzheng who successfully became a department director around the age of forty was at the mercy of Huo Congjun, he was once an excellent researcher. And he still was!

Huo Conjun ignored the fact that He Yuanzheng (an excellent researcher) was showing off. He merely said nonchalantly to Ling Ran, “Just try to get used to the atmosphere here. It’s actually a good thing that you’re only giving ‘basic consultation’, as the patients’ condition wouldn’t usually be too complicated. If you encounter anything too complicated, just refer the patient to Department Director He. Only take in patients you’re capable of operating on.”

He Yuanzheng’s face contorted in fury. ‘Not only do I have to be Ling Ran’s babysitter, but he is also using our department to scout for patients for the Emergency Department?’

Truth be told, it was already a trend now for the Emergency Department to scout for patients in the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery. However, He Yuanzheng still intended to slow down this trend.

“My slots are full, so if Doctor Ling were to refer patients to me, I might not have time to give consultations to those patients…” He Yuanzheng refuted once again.

“Just create additional slots.” Huo Congjun immediately shot down He Yuanzheng’s reasoning.

He Yuanzheng gritted his teeth in resignation. When he raised his head and saw Huo Congjun’s teeth, he decided to endure the humiliation for a greater cause. “Doctor Ling, you shouldn’t be getting many patients, so it’s okay if you refer some of them to me. Why don’t we do this? In our department’s software, there’re some settings that allow us to share patients…”

“I plan to put Zhang Anmin in charge of operating the software.” Ling Ran cut He Yuanzheng off, showing off his privilege as a specialist…

A true specialist would never need to operate the computer by himself. All his time would be spent diagnosing patients. How would they have the time to patiently key in all the details?

He Yuanzheng, though, could not help but freeze for a moment.

Truth be told, He Yuanzheng did not have any subordinate who could operate the computer for him.

His age was one of the reasons.

In a place like Yun Hua Hospital, all the senior specialists who were over the age of fifty were not very good at using the computer. This was especially true for those over the age of fifty-five. Naturally, they would need their subordinates to operate the computer on their behalf.

In large-scale departments, there was usually a resident doctor, houseman, or medical intern sitting beside specialists.

However, He Yuanzheng was only a little over the age of forty. Not only was he adept at using the computer, but he also wanted to show that he was different compared to other doctors of similar rank.

It was impossible for him to do this through his skills. Hence, under these circumstances, he could only make up for his shortcomings with his superb computer skills.

This was why for the past few years, He Yuanzheng never asked any junior doctor to key in the patients’ details on his behalf.

However, as He Yuanzheng gazed at Zhang Anmin who was standing behind Ling Ran right now, He Yuanzheng suddenly felt a little annoyed. At the end of the day, Zhang Anmin still belonged to the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery.

“I’m heading to my consultation room. The patient’s already forming a queue outside.” He Yuanzheng no longer knew what to say. He just wanted to get away.

He turned and walked straight into the consultation room opposite Ling Ran’s, which was fifteen feet away, without looking back.

“Please enter the consultation room according to your queue number. Those who are slotted at the back, please wait outside the consultation room. Number 2. Is number 2 here?” The moment He Yuanzheng entered the consultation room, a nurse quickly came out to maintain order among the patients.

In the hospital, even though patients often refused to listen to doctors, they were willing to take the nurses’ order.

Soon, a small queue appeared in front of He Yuanzheng’s consultation room.

As He Yuanzheng was the department director of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery of Yun Hua Hospital, he was considered one of the ace doctors in the hospital. Moreover, Yun Hua Hospital was one of the most highly-ranked hospitals in Changxi Province. Hence, He Yuanzheng had never suffered a lack of patients.

It was just that most patients who needed hepatectomy stopped going for him.

Nowadays, He Yuanzheng had no choice but to work hard to improve his skills when it came to treating bile duct diseases. Even though those who were adept at treating liver diseases looked down on those who treated patients with gallbladder problems, bile duct diseases were considered as hard to treat as liver diseases.

He Yuanzheng gave consultations to two patients at one go, and it only took him six minutes. As he waited for the next patient to arrive, he rose and poured himself a glass of water behind the door of the consultation room. He then looked at the consultation room opposite his.

The door of Ling Ran’s consultation room was closed, and there was no one outside the door.

He Yuanzheng could not help but smile. ‘Nowadays, why would patients go for ‘basic consultation’?’

As he thought about this, a voice rang out from the corridor. The nurse who was assisting him in maintaining order among the patients was talking to a patient in a hushed tone.

“If you’re suffering from liver problems, you should go and see Doctor Ling Ran. His consultation room is the one opposite this. Yes, he’s the best doctor in our hospital when it comes to liver diseases…” Even though the nurse was speaking in a low voice, her tone was extremely firm.