Comfy Leather Chair

Big dark wood desk. Pictures and plaques on the wall. A wooden coat rack. A comfy leather chair.

A doctor's office.

With Monday came my first visit to a doctor in Hong Kong. Nothing serious - please don't worry. Just had to get a quick look over before going to Portugal.

My interaction with the doctor began at about 11am when Eric convinced me that I should run in just to be safe. We have a little YWCA guidebook that our friend Donna gave us, thank you!, which is so helpful with things like this. I dialed the doctor and to my utter amazement was instructed to come in an hour. An hour! Keep in mind, this was a specialist, as there are very few general doctor's in Hong Kong from what I could tell and many more specialists. In the States, my adventures with specialists before have taken weeks, if not months, to schedule and usually even longer to bring to a resolution.

The office was but about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, but I took off shortly after calling to ensure I could find the building, etc. I had to be buzzed into the office but could see through the glass door that it was not posh by any means but very presentable, like a house where all the furniture is from the 1970's but is spotless because it's been covered in plastic all these years. I walked up to the women behind the counter, one wearing a surgical-type mask as is common here when one is sick. She greeted me and handed me some paperwork to fill out:

Last Name
First Name
Address
Home Phone
Office Phone
Married or Single
ID #

That was it. No medical history or pressure about payment methods. Just the basics. She thanked me and instructed me to sit down. There were two other groups of patients in the waiting area.

I had brought a magazine to read as I was about 30 minutes early. Two paragraphs in, the nurse peaked her head out from behind the door and said my name. I was surprised but glad to go. I walked through the door, expecting I don't know what, but certainly not what I saw.

It was the doctor. Right there, about 5 feet away from me, sitting behind his enormous, dark wood desk. I was greeted and instructed to sit in a leather chair next to the desk as if I were coming for an interview at Doctor's Office Inc. And so the exam began. It was quick, to the point, and thorough but also so efficient that I found myself nervous. In about 3 minutes, I had described my problem, been examined (right there in the chair), a tentative diagnosis made, and instructed to wait back in the lobby.

Wow! It was crazy fast, so I sat dazed in the lobby. Another patient was called in, and exited. And another in, and another out. The nurse brings me a pamphlet (in English and from the U.S.) describing my ailment. 5 minutes pass. It's my turn again. In. Diagnosis and treatment. Exit.

I passed another few minutes waiting for the nurse, because in Hong Kong, most medicines are actually dispensed by a doctor as well as prescribed. Pharmacies are basically for over the counter medications. So, shortly, the nurse called me back up, explained the medicine, and gave me the bill. That was that. It was over.

It's hard for me to describe how different, and more satisfying in many ways, this doctor's visit was for me than the specialist visits I've had in the U.S. I didn't worry about paperwork, scheduling, or anything. It was how doctor's visits should be. What you need, when you wanted, and for a good price. Granted, my doctor could have benefited from a little bedside care lessons on how to engage the patient, but at least I know he was there for business.