Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Beijing has a growing range of international options, both at clinic level, where you can
maintain a relationship with a family doctor and be treated for minor illnesses, through to
full-scale hospitals with areas of specialization. These facilities are largely in line with what
you'd be used to back in your home country. They're orderly, hygienic, and are staffed
largely by expat doctors fluent in English. You can make appointments, and your passage
through treatment runs much as it would in a Western hospital, without queuing at cashiers
or scrambling for a place in the doctor's office.
One of the biggest complaints about the international facilities is about the fees. These
days, they are pretty much in line with American medical fees, and if you're not insured,
you may literally be bankrupted by your bill. Whether it's for medication, an X-ray, or a
consultation, the amount that comes out of your pocket will potentially be 100 times more
than what you might spend within the general section of a local hospital, and three or four
times more than that from the VIP section of a local hospital. Standard consultations can
range from RMB500 to RMB1,300, but if you decide to add on a few annual checkup items,
such as a pap smear or blood test, you could quite easily tarnish your day with a bill of
RMB5,000-6,000. In part it's true that prices are jacked up because many of these private
facilities are money-making businesses that revel in the awareness of their predominantly
fully insured clientele. In their support, they are expensive operations to run, and staffing
them with foreign or foreign-trained doctors and staff doesn't come cheap. When you come
here you are definitely paying for a different kind of experience.
It really is worth shopping around even between international hospitals, however. SOS
and Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU) once almost monopolized Beijing expat health-
care, but with more private facilities entering the market and with the downward trend for
well-padded expat packages, there is more incentive to compete on prices.
Aside from prices, it's important to know that not all the international facilities are com-
prehensive hospitals equipped to handle major procedures. While able to take care of basic
medical conditions, places such as International SOS Beijing Clinic and the Hong Kong In-
ternational Medical Clinic, for example, are not suited to tackle critical procedures. They
will either transfer you to another hospital in the city or arrange for a medical evacuation to
your home country or perhaps down to Hong Kong. In fact, some people argue that they do
the latter far more often than is necessary. A medical evacuation to Hong Kong can easily
cost $50,000 in transport costs alone. This may include a doctor and nurse, an ambulance
out to the airport and then another one out onto the tarmac, a private jet to Hong Kong, and
then another ambulance to the hospital. If you find yourself in a critical situation, it's best
