Merchant and doctor

Chapter 1977 The Imperial Physician
The sales of "Detoxifying Plaster" have always been quite optimistic. It has long been known in the Chinese medicine community that this medicine has almost no side effects, is effective for external wound infections, and is inexpensive. In particular, it is used by doctors in small Chinese medicine clinics on the street.

After hearing what Dr. Gu said today, Bian Mu guessed that his colleagues were just trying to save time and effort, and some necessary diagnostic procedures might be missing? It seems that they have a certain degree of habitual casualness in the process of seeing patients, which is in stark contrast to the rigor that he had when he opened his own clinic.

Having worked in a public hospital in a small county and also independently managed a department in the best large private hospital in Lijin, he knows that a competent TCM doctor must bear considerable medical responsibility for each patient he sees, both overtly and covertly. In fact, that responsibility is often shared by the hospital and other colleagues.

Moreover, the worse a physician's medical skills are, the higher the proportion of responsibility that the hospital and other colleagues share during the same period, inversely proportional.

Opening your own clinic is completely different. The support of the laboratory staff is gone, more than 90% of the nurses are gone, and there are not even any security guards or cleaners. Almost all medical responsibilities have to be borne by the attending physician. Theoretically speaking, every doctor who opens a clinic on the street or in a community has to be more responsible in dealing with every patient who comes to seek medical treatment and medicine. The workload is significantly several times that of their colleagues working in the hospital.

However, many of my colleagues who prefer to open clinics do not fully realize this point, especially those TCM doctors who have retired from hospitals, even top-tier hospitals. They say they are making the most of their remaining time, but in reality, they are just bored at home. Opening a clinic gives them something to do, helps them slow down the aging process, and allows them to earn some extra money to supplement their household income.

As a result, some clinic doctors become somewhat careless when seeing patients, basically relying on the successful experience they accumulated over the years before retirement to make diagnoses and perform treatments. This kind of rigid medical practice inevitably leads to some mistakes, and if they are unlucky, they may run into trouble such as medical disputes.

The elderly traditional Chinese medicine doctor surnamed Gu in front of us may also have similar tendencies to some extent.

Objectively speaking, the way they do this... is basically just relying on luck!
Remembering the advice of forest ranger Lao Liang, Bian Mu felt that he really needed to find an opportunity to have a good chat with these "group members." Setting an industry benchmark might be bragging, but it would be quite meaningful to do his part to regulate the medical practices of his colleagues.

Whether it's traditional Chinese medicine or modern Chinese medicine, there's a set of testing standards for diagnosis. For lower limb traumatic infections, there's always been the standard of "not exceeding the knee if not treated." Judging from Dr. Gu's tone, he seems somewhat unfamiliar with this standard.

Unable to help but shake his head slightly, Bian Mu felt that Brother Gu needed to put in a lot of effort to integrate his business.

"Dr. Gu! Does this patient you're treating have any unusual habits compared to his colleagues when he works on the construction site?" Bian Mu asked with a smile.

"This... I don't know... Do you usually ask such detailed questions when you see patients?" After a moment of surprise, Dr. Gu asked casually, his eyes revealing a kind of confusion unique to the elderly.

“Of course! Infection is no small matter, especially since the infection has spread to the area near the knee. You know, the pressure of Qi in the human body has a fixed value. Once it exceeds half of that value, it can be life-threatening! Logically speaking, the current level of expertise in surgery, trauma, and infectious diseases is quite high, whether through medication or surgery. Even so, the blood infection could not be completely controlled, at most it only delayed the infection for a while. On the one hand, the patient is a few years old, so his immune system is definitely weaker, but that's not the main reason. The main reason should be found in his work habits at the construction site. Western medicine calls it a viral or bacterial infection, while we usually use internal and external pathogens to define it. Everyone should be at a similar level in dealing with external pathogens, but I guess there must be some oversight in defining internal pathogens, otherwise it would have been controlled long ago!” Bian Mu patiently explained for a long time.

"Oh! That makes sense... How come I didn't think of that! I was careless..." Doctor Gu replied with a hint of disappointment, seemingly having realized something. Bian Mu couldn't help but curl his lip, feeling quite unconvinced.

"Are you being careless?! You're clearly just taking advantage of the situation. Everyone says the ointment is good, and you know your own limitations. You just use our medicine without even bothering to create a proper environment for its use. You're just picking up the pieces without any preparation?! There aren't that many freebies in this world for you to pick up!" Bian Mu thought to himself.

"Then what should we do now?"

"Go back and have a good talk with the patient and his family. See if he has any work habits that are different from his colleagues on the construction site. For example, he doesn't wear socks when he's working in the middle of winter. Ask about everything, no matter how small. I suspect he has been infected with 'dampness toxins' for a long time. Please note! It's not just simple chronic 'dampness evil,' it's 'dampness toxins.' It takes at least ten or eight years to accumulate to that level. Also, the patient's blood sugar metabolism is probably not right. Be careful! Diabetes is just one of them. You need to check other aspects as well. Also, ask if the patient has had any liver surgery in the past ten years or more. What kind of surgery was it? What stage of treatment did it reach? If you can still find the original medical records, you need to summarize them carefully. Otherwise, the infection level wouldn't be this severe."

"I understand... Compared to you, we're like we've never even entered the medical field. We're ashamed..." Well, Dr. Gu still has some self-awareness.

“Opening a private clinic is harder than working in a hospital! Forgive my bluntness, but you all seem to have it all backwards, so… Oh right, I brought three bottles of ‘detoxifying plaster.’ Look! Isn’t there a negative pressure air inlet at the bottom of the bottle? Based on the patient information you provided, I’ve already filled it with some air. You must use all three bottles within 11 days. Only use the ones I give you. Throw away any that you’ve opened; they’re useless.”

"Okay, okay! Thank you for your guidance!"

"You're welcome! It's best to see the patient in person for these kinds of things. It's a bit rushed right now, so you should ask the family or the patient's former colleagues first. After get off work tonight, send me your location, and I'll go with you to visit the patient at home. We can't meet at your clinic for these kinds of things; it's against the rules. It's also inconvenient and taboo for us to come here. Fortunately, he's not in any immediate danger, so let's get to the right treatment as soon as possible!"

"Okay, okay!" Dr. Gu looked relieved, and you could tell from his expression that a weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders.

Bian Mu guessed that Dr. Gu had most likely received a lot of benefits from the patient and his family. Seeing that the condition was not under effective control, he was already in a difficult situation. Bian Mu's sudden and effective help finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

"I can't let this favor go unrewarded. You have to do something for me sometime when you have some free time!" Bian Mu suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Gu was stunned.

Bian Mu is a renowned "principal physician," a title synonymous with a virtuous doctor. How come he's suddenly demanding benefits?! It seems his reputation doesn't live up to it! Even the most popular "principal physician" can't escape the temptations!