Hospital / Philhealth Experience

[OnMyWay]

I'll share our Subic Bay hospital experience, mainly for the Philhealth part.

 

We all got a stomach bug this week.  I started it, followed by baby Katy, Abby and then our 11 year old Oz.  Diarrhea, fever, vomiting.  I thought it was food poisoning but now I don't think so.  I was down for the count all day Wednesday.  Then Katy started Thursday night.  Then Abby and Oz on Saturday while we were still at the hospital.  We are all good now.  Viral stomach bug I guess.  We need to be more careful when one of us gets sick.

 

Katy woke up vomiting at 10:30 PM Thursday night and was vomiting all night.  She was better in the morning but then at 1 pm Friday she lost it all again.  We had already spoken to her pediatrician in the morning and now we went to see him.  He just confirmed what he had already said.  He would confine her so she would avoid being dehydrated and get nourishment, until it passed.  So back home to gather some things.

 

We checked into Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, in Olongapo City, on the edge of Barrio Baretto, north of SBMA, where Katy was born.  We have had reasonable experiences there and did not want to try Baypointe in SBMA.

 

We checked in about 5 pm Friday.  As per our doc, we checked in via emergency even though it was not really an emergency.  That is how they do it there.  Emergency room staff were nice and we were the only customers at that time.  They set up Katy on the IV that the doc ordered, while I held her and Abby booked the room upstairs.  Took the guy two tries to get a good IV.  The first was pushing too much blood out.  What can you do but have patience.  Katy was crying but actually she is a brave little girl when it comes to pain.  We had no problems with the IV the rest of the time despite her best efforts to screw with it.

 

We booked a "suite" like we had when Katy was born.  It is p1500 a night.  I had to put down a p3000 deposit.  It is their best private room.  It was not as nice as the one we had for the birth but still ok.   Actually on the day we left they offered to move us to a nicer room that opened but it was too close to leaving and not worth it.  The room had 2 beds and a sofa bench thing suitable for Oz, so plenty of room for us.  The mattresses are terribly hard and uncomfortable.  I saw some people carrying foams out and next time I will bring one!  The room also had a small new LED TV with cable, good internet, a desk and chair, CR, frig, sink and storage.

 

Everything went well with the visit.  Nurses and staff were nice and helpful.  Checked Katy's vitals every few hours except I think just once during the middle of the night during sleeping time,  Katy's tests all came back negative.  The hardest part was keeping her down when she was awake, but we were able to take her for walks with the IV, and she charmed all the staff!  Our doc stopped in 3 times, once when we checked in Friday and twice on Saturday.

 

Philhealth was a pleasant surprise.  Our doc cleared Katy to leave at noon, but both the doc and hospital staff told us that if we want Philhealth to pay, we have to be there 24 hours.  Abby was already feeling poorly now, so we decided to just hang out and rest.  They took the IV out of Katy about 1 PM so we had 3.5 hours to kill watching TV and using the internet.  I would have blown off the Philhealth but Abby really wanted to rest, so we stayed.  Katy, free of the IV, and I, explored the hospital to get her tired for an afternoon nap.  Abby and Oz napped.

 

Went down to the cashier to settle the bill and they gave me money back from my p3000 deposit!  Nice!

 

Our bill was about like this:

 

Item          Amount           My Share

===========================

Room         p1500              p1157.15

Medicine        782                0

Supplies         718               0

Labs             1235               0

Others          1120               0

Doc Fee       3300               1500

---------------------------------------------

Total             8657              2657

 

Not bad!  Cost me about 57 bucks for our overnight stay!  I didn't know Philhealth would pay all that stuff.  Katy is under Abby's Philhealth.

 

 

 

[chris49]

That's quite good Don, 1157 pesos, around $25 for a private room and although Im sure it's below US standard, US hospitals would not allow the whole family to stay in.

As for the Doc's fee. I can't judge that, because we only stayed in "free" gov't hospitals and we did not avail the private room. When I had my very brief stay with asthma, Gina could not leave the kids so if I went private, I'm all alone which is no real advantage. I stayed in a ward and gave some minor assistance to other patients and vice versa. Doc sets his own fee, so all things considered, you got off lighly.

When I was being discharged they tried to send me for an X Ray because technician had not been on duty at night. By that time I was better, so I refused the X ray.

We have not had much gastro but if we do, it usually affects me more. Gina and the kids seem immune to local bacteria or virus (probably from food preparation or food eaten from outside, but who knows)

[OnMyWay]

As for the Doc's fee. I can't judge that, because we only stayed in "free" gov't hospitals and we did not avail the private room.

 

Abby says that when you stay in a more expensive room, your other fees can go up too, like the doctor's fee.  I'm not sure if he sets it or the hospital has a scheme for that.  As long as it is reasonable I'm not complaining.  So they get more money from people who can afford a better room.

 

For our pediatrician, we normally pay p400 for the office visits, and we like him.  I think he raised it about 6 months ago.  I think others pay the same as us unless he gives them free services, which I suspect he does.  We have met some poor people in there who I am sure can't afford him.  In fact, we gave a few pesos to one woman, a few times, so she could get some lunch, etc.  She didn't ask for it.  She was travelling really far from up north to see him and her cute baby girl, about the same age as Katy, has a heart condition.  The docs specialty is neonatology.

 

I think he charges us more than others for vaccinations and I don't mind subsidizing his poor patients on that either, within reason.

[stevewool]

Good to know all is well with everyone , plus the price gives us some idea that you do need that extra budget for the just incase, also getting Philhealth too

[OnMyWay]

Good to know all is well with everyone , plus the price gives us some idea that you do need that extra budget for the just incase, also getting Philhealth too

 

I'm still planning on getting private insurance too, for much better coverage.  Gotta get that done.

[stevewool]

 

Good to know all is well with everyone , plus the price gives us some idea that you do need that extra budget for the just incase, also getting Philhealth too

 

I'm still planning on getting private insurance too, for much better coverage.  Gotta get that done.

 

Have you any idea of the prices plus what you get for the set amount too, i did try to look the once , but the prices frightened me off,

[OnMyWay]

 

 

Good to know all is well with everyone , plus the price gives us some idea that you do need that extra budget for the just incase, also getting Philhealth too

 

I'm still planning on getting private insurance too, for much better coverage.  Gotta get that done.

 

Have you any idea of the prices plus what you get for the set amount too, i did try to look the once , but the prices frightened me off,

 

 

Honestly I have not done my own research but I think some people on the forum said they pay a reasonable amount for Blue Cross and like it.  You can get an estimate on the Blue Cross web page but of course your actual mileage will vary.

[stevewool]

Thats the next few hours taken care of now

[chris49]

As for the Doc's fee. I can't judge that, because we only stayed in "free" gov't hospitals and we did not avail the private room.

 

Abby says that when you stay in a more expensive room, your other fees can go up too, like the doctor's fee.  I'm not sure if he sets it or the hospital has a scheme for that.  As long as it is reasonable I'm not complaining.  So they get more money from people who can afford a better room.

 

For our pediatrician, we normally pay p400 for the office visits, and we like him.  I think he raised it about 6 months ago.  I think others pay the same as us unless he gives them free services, which I suspect he does.  We have met some poor people in there who I am sure can't afford him.  In fact, we gave a few pesos to one woman, a few times, so she could get some lunch, etc.  She didn't ask for it.  She was travelling really far from up north to see him and her cute baby girl, about the same age as Katy, has a heart condition.  The docs specialty is neonatology.

 

I think he charges us more than others for vaccinations and I don't mind subsidizing his poor patients on that either, within reason.

Our Doc charges 400 but he keeps a supply of meds in his drawer, all generic. He usually issues you what he prescribes and will charge 500. I notice others pay 200-300. Because I'm a nurse I asked him for a few prescriptions with his signature and he gives me. Because of that I go abut once a year or less. I can text him and ask various questions. He's also the Director of the local Govt hospital, so a handy guy to know.

Don. Hope you understand that those vaccinations are free, and the Doc can draw his supplies from the local hospital. There's something written in the newspaper abut them charging for "free" vaccinations. But your guy is a pediatrician, ours is a GP, so you are getting a specialty, very cheap imo.

Provincial nurse comes here to barangay once a week and each child gets his vaccinations. She also gives the Depo Vera...3 month birth control injections, under the new Reproductive Health Act. I saw some birth control pills on the shelf, so assume they are given out.

[intrepid]

Not bad! Cost me about 57 bucks for our overnight stay! I didn't know Philhealth would pay all that stuff. Katy is under Abby's Philhealth.

Room p1500 p1157.15

 

Wow, Cheaper than many hotels!  Plus you have medical help when you need it.  If they only had a pool it would make a cheap vacation for a short stay and rest! :bedtime2: