We met an agent for the distal femoral locking plate, and he offered some discount to the price. Since Monday the supplier has been pestering me. He would text me as late as 11:00 pm, asking when we could settle. I told him the doctor has mentioned a schedule for the following week, so why was there a hurry to buy the implant? He said it takes 3-5 days to prepare the implant and bring it to the operating room. I said another supplier mentioned that the implant is brought to the hospital the night before the surgery, and in fact that supplier refused to sell me one on 5 February, because it was too soon. He said that's how they do it, so it's up to me. He also mentioned that it might be good to get the implant early, because a slot may suddenly become available, and my patient could be scheduled for surgery early.
I decided to visit Ate Malou on Wednesday, to hunt down the doctor and buy the implant. I texted the supplier early that I would be in the hospital at 11:30. He said yes, the agent will meet me there. I texted him again when I arrived at the hospital. Again he said ok. But at 11:30 I called him, and he said the agent had to make a delivery to Cavite, and would be available at 2:00 pm.
We had a small argument over the phone. I just took some time away from the office to meet him. I had to be back in the office at 1:30 for a meeting. After the initial aggression to sell the implant, the least he could do was inform me in the morning that the agent would be available in the afternoon, so that I didn't have to come for nothing. We agreed that he would personally come at 2:00 pm to collect the payment. I was to leave the money with my patient.
To soothe my ire, he asked if I would like to see Ate Malou's doctor. He told me where I could find the doctor, and said he would call ahead to advise him that I was coming. Over a week of trying to talk to the doctor, and it is an agent who will make an appointment for me.
I left Ate Malou with strict instructions on how to deal with the agent when he arrives. I have heard that another patient was victimized by a budol-budol gang the previous day and the conman made away with P100,000 for the patient's surgery. Then I went back to the office.
At 2:30 Ate Malou called. It's a different person who came to collect the payment. I immediately called the supplier to confirm the identity of the agent, since our agreement was that he would personally come. I was angry again, because I deserved the courtesy of him letting me know who would be coming to transact with me. I got Ate Malou to check the agent's ID, and to take down all information from the ID, including the company name and the contact numbers. I also asked her to get an official receipt.
I spoke to the agent and asked him when they would bring the implant to the operating room. He said, the night before the surgery.
What's maddening is that some people take advantage of the situation of a patient in the ward to make a profit, and does not have enough decency to treat paying customers with respect. It has been a persistent feeling all throughout the transactions in the hospital: you are in the ward because you don't have money, ergo, they treat you like you're a little stupid, a little gullible, and a little ignorant.
If you need a bone implant, the doctors can give you the agent's name and number. I hunted down two other suppliers to compare prices, which didn't change. The prices are regulated, but it's your job to beg for a discount. The agents are familiar with the doctors' schedules and the procedures inside the hospital, and it is more fruitful to chat them up than to extract information from the nurses. In the OPD, the agents can sit with the doctors. You need an injection of some kind for your injured knee, you can discuss the price with the agent right away. Maybe next time I will ask how the agent's commission scheme works.
Today I'm the little teapot, short and stout. I am slowly simmering to a boil and I have to pour it out, so I'm blogging.
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