in april 2005, when i was still ignorant of endometriosis and living in the us, i was lucky enough to have health insurance (bad as it was) and decided to find a us doctor who could prescribe something for my nasal allergies. in singapore, my doctor had prescribed me "flixonase" (the foreign name for flonase) and i could buy it there for us$17 a bottle. without insurance. i would find out later that a bottle of flonase in the us would set me back us$70 a bottle with insurance.
.....
me: "how soon would you be able to operate on my cysts if i decided to have it done immediately?"
he: "anytime also can.* you want tonight, or if you want tomorrow, it can be done."
(* some singaporean style english for you. it just means "anytime.")
me: "what? really?"
he: "yah." at no point did he exhibit any expression on his face except concern, and he looked me in the eye.
me: "you'd be able to do it anytime i ask for?"
he: "ya, anytime. the sooner the better of course. just tell me, we can arrange it."
when i told my husband about the conversation, he was amazed, even with the other personal singapore healthcare experiences he's heard from me. among other things, my gynae's practice in singapore:
- is "private", as opposed to a government clinic in singapore, but still affordable. i can also get appointment with the doctor really quickly, within the same week whenever i call, if not the next day.
- never made me feel rushed. my first appointment with dr o lasted an hour. all my appointments with dr m in raleigh had never gone over 10 minutes.
- was the one who gave me a pelvic ultrasound on my first visit to him, and showed me my sonogram images, on screen during the ultrasound, and on paper after. this never happened with dr m.
