Chapter 209 - 208: Medical Dispute

Chapter 209: Chapter 208: Medical Dispute

A little after two in the afternoon, the gastric cancer resection surgery led by Dr. Cui Zhitan concluded smoothly.

Doctor Cui brought his surgical assistant, Zhiming, to his office to share a late lunch.

Their lunch was takeout that Doctor Cui had arranged for an intern to bring from a high-end restaurant.

It was, needless to say, a significant improvement over the hospital cafeteria’s fare...

Halfway through the meal, Zhiming suddenly remembered something.

"Doctor Cui, you mentioned that your son’s teacher had asked about me. What was that about, exactly?"

Doctor Cui took a sip of beef soup and said with a note of sarcasm, "It was nothing major. It’s just that the teacher’s request was a little outrageous."

Doctor Cui then asked, "Dr. Yu, did you once give a health lecture and perform physical examinations for the members of a women’s beauty salon?"

Zhiming hummed in affirmation, confirming that he had.

Doctor Cui said, "Ah," and continued, "Well, that teacher’s sister-in-law also runs a beauty salon."

"She saw that the event where the other salon invited you, Dr. Yu, was very successful, so she was thinking of inviting you to hold one for her place too."

"That teacher is probably accustomed to getting freebies. Between the lines, what he wanted was for me to ask you, Dr. Yu, to do a ’volunteer session’ for his sister-in-law’s salon."

"He really overestimates his own importance. I just made the excuse that we weren’t close and shut him down."

Zhiming chuckled and said, "People who are used to getting freebies always try that first. If it doesn’t work, then they’ll try other methods."

Doctor Cui nodded, then asked with a grin, "I heard you were invited to a medical conference hosted by Academician Tan on Tuesday, but you slipped out not long after it started because you couldn’t understand what was being said?"

Zhiming wasn’t the least bit embarrassed, admitting frankly, "That conference was too high-level. I really couldn’t understand it."

"Instead of staying there wasting time and feeling out of my depth, I figured I was better off taking care of other things."

Doctor Cui laughed heartily. "That’s Dr. Yu for you. If you don’t know something, you admit it. So frank and straightforward."

Zhiming said humbly, "I’m just being realistic. I only have an undergraduate degree, so my accumulated knowledge is far from sufficient."

Doctor Cui’s smile faded. He said in a serious voice, "Dr. Yu, this has started to spread. Some people might think you left the conference midway because you’re arrogant—relying on your special skill, disrespectful to your elders, and not interested in self-improvement."

Zhiming let out a disdainful little snort. "Let them say whatever they want. It’s not like there’s a shortage of gossip about me."

Doctor Cui chuckled softly. "Dr. Yu, with an attitude that carefree and detached, you don’t seem like a young man at all. You’re more like a middle-aged man who’s seen it all."

Zhiming replied with a self-deprecating expression, "That’s just because I’ve heard so much gossip growing up that I’ve had to become immune."

"If I took it all to heart, I would’ve been diagnosed with depression by now."

Doctor Cui sighed softly. "Who doesn’t get talked about behind their back? Especially someone like you, Dr. Yu, who became famous at a young age. The haters and the jealous will only focus on your flaws and shortcomings."

Zhiming also let out a small sigh. "You’re right. My flaws and shortcomings are like a monkey’s red butt. When it’s squatting on the ground, nobody sees it."

"Now that I’ve climbed up a tall tree, a lot of people are starting to point at that red butt and talk."

Doctor Cui couldn’t help but crack a smile at that...

After finishing lunch with Doctor Cui, Zhiming returned to the Qi Yue Medical Research Center to find it surprisingly noisy.

’Is someone causing a scene?’

When he returned to the main office, Zhiming didn’t even have to ask. Zhou Mo, the office’s resident know-it-all, came right over and filled him in.

"This afternoon, one of our center’s late-stage diabetes patients suffered multiple organ failure. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and the patient died."

"The family is raising hell about it."

"They’re saying the patient was fine when they were admitted, that we treated them to death here, and they want us to take responsibility."

Zhiming snorted softly. "So they’re trying to shake us down for money?"

Zhou Mo said resentfully, "That’s exactly what it is. Everyone knows you can’t cure diabetes, you can only try to manage it."

"Once it progresses to the late stages and organ failure sets in, not even a god could save them."

"The people from the Medical Affairs Department are here. They specialize in handling doctor-patient disputes, so they should get it sorted out soon..."

A few minutes later, Zhiming heard the sounds of arguing and shouting fade into the distance. He figured the disgruntled family members had likely been taken somewhere else to negotiate...

Around four in the afternoon, Zhiming greeted the day’s VIP clients: a family of six who had come for physical examinations.

He examined each member of the family and found that the senior and the main couple only had some minor chronic issues; their health was generally fine.

After Zhiming detailed his findings and gave them some health advice, he didn’t forget to hand them a couple of promotional flyers for his nephew’s company...

Three or four minutes later, Qiao Lei, who had escorted the family out, returned to the main office.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Dr. Yu, I saw them throw the flyers into a trash can in the lobby."

Zhiming just said, "I see." Then he added, "That’s normal. When we get a flyer on the street that we don’t need, we toss it in the nearest trash can too."

"Still..."

Zhiming snorted coldly. "They could have at least walked a little farther before tossing it. They really didn’t show any courtesy at all."

He instructed, "Qiao Lei, help me remember this family."

"If they ever happen to come to me for help in the future, be sure to remind me of this."

Qiao Lei nodded in acknowledgment.

Zhou Mo chimed in with a grin, "Ooh, they’ve made a note in our Dr. Yu’s book. They’re on the blacklist now."

"Now they’re in for it."

Zhiming chuckled. "Me remembering it doesn’t really do anything. It’s just for my own satisfaction."

"They’re rich. If they really have health problems in the future, there are plenty of other places they can go for treatment. They won’t need to come begging me."

Qiao Lei started to suck up. "I wouldn’t be so sure. Dr. Yu, you’ve only been at Huashan Hospital for less than two months, and you’ve already accomplished so much."

"In a few years, you’ll definitely be a world-renowned physician."

"They’ve slighted you now, and someday, they will absolutely live to regret it."

Zhiming shot the guy a look. "You make it sound like I’m incredibly petty and vindictive, as if I’d hold a grudge for decades over a minor slight."

Qiao Lei replied with a grin, "Dr. Yu, it’s definitely not that you’re vindictive. It’s that *I* will remember this for you for the next few decades."

"It’s a long-term task you’ve assigned to me, Dr. Yu. Forgetting it would be a dereliction of my duty."

Zhou Mo couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Qiao Lei, then turned and said, "Dr. Yu, do you remember Yaoming Pharmaceutical?"

Zhiming grunted. "Of course. Don’t tell me our hospital has started working with them again?"

"No way!"

Zhou Mo said animatedly, "As long as your reputation remains intact, Dr. Yu, our hospital won’t risk offending you by resuming its partnership with Yaoming Pharmaceutical."

"And Dr. Yu, I heard that Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital and Ning’an Hospital have also drastically reduced their business with Yaoming Pharmaceutical."

She elaborated, "Someone in the work group chat said that more than one Yaoming Pharmaceutical sales rep has been complaining that their daily dispensary numbers at Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital and Ning’an Hospital have fallen off a cliff."

"And not just that, they said Yaoming Pharmaceutical’s sales figures at other hospitals have also seen a noticeable decline."

Zhiming was a little surprised. "My influence is really that significant?"

"So many hospitals are sticking up for me?"

Qiao Lei analyzed, "Dr. Yu, it’s two things. First, your reputation is growing. Second, Yaoming Pharmaceutical’s competitors are seizing the opportunity."

"The medical market is only so big."

"There’s no way Yaoming Pharmaceutical’s competitors would pass up this chance to kick them while they’re down and really put the boot in."

"With several competitors targeting them at once, it’s only natural for Yaoming Pharmaceutical’s sales figures to see a major slide."

Hearing this, Zhiming understood.

His incident was just the spark that led to Yaoming Pharmaceutical being collectively targeted by its competitors.

Jiaoda Affiliated Hospital and Ning’an Hospital had a good relationship with Zhiming, so they simply went with the flow and began to drastically reduce their business with Yaoming Pharmaceutical.

Just then, Zhiming heard some noise from the director’s office next door and knew Teacher Qi was back.

He knocked and went inside, only to find Teacher Qi with a deeply troubled expression on his face.

"Teacher, is everything alright?"

Qi Yue glanced up at Zhiming. "I’m fine. Just had a run-in with some unreasonable family members."

"The Medical Affairs Department has taken it over, so we don’t need to get distracted by it."

After a brief pause, Qi Yue added a word of caution, "Zhiming, you’re bound to encounter medical disputes like this in the future."

"When you do, don’t panic. Don’t try to explain things to the family, and absolutely do not apologize or negotiate privately."

"Just hand everything over to the Medical Affairs Department."

"That’s the benefit of working at a large hospital—there’s a dedicated department to handle disputes."

Zhiming grunted in agreement. "If I run into unreasonable patient families, I’ll definitely steer clear."

"Just to keep them from doing something irrational in the heat of the moment."

Hearing this, Qi Yue couldn’t help but recall their first meeting, when the guy’s face was beaten black and blue.

Just then, Qi Yue’s phone rang.

He picked up the phone, answered, and after listening for a moment, his expression immediately darkened.

"Director Yang, I will be sure to give them a serious reminder."

Qi Yue put down his phone, looked at Zhiming, and said, "That was Director Yang from Medical Affairs. He said the deceased’s family is making threats. They claim the deceased has a younger son recuperating in the countryside who suffers from a mental illness."

"They also said that if this matter isn’t resolved to their satisfaction today, they can’t guarantee what that son might do, that he might be ’provoked’ into doing something crazy and uncontrollable."

Zhiming’s heart tightened. He asked, "Teacher, is this a threat to get the hospital to pay up?"

Qi Yue said coldly, "It’s a threat, for sure. But we still have to take precautions."

"Zhiming, go find Zhou Mo. Have her tell everyone in the center to be extra careful and take precautions for their personal safety..."

As Zhiming left the director’s office, Qiao Lei approached him.

"Dr. Yu, the organizers of the prosthetic eye charity project just called. They want to confirm your schedule for tomorrow evening..."