Ethics?

Does people get more grumpy when they have a toothache?!?! I certainly do...

I have been suffering from severe toothache since two days ago... and yesterday, I went to the dentist to sort the problem out... Luckily enough, my company would pay for the dental treatment if I go to one of their panel doctors, which I did!

Perhaps the dentist knew that it is my company who pays the bill, he overcharged me by a huge margin...
Consultation Fee + X-ray = RM60
A course of antibiotics + some pain-killers = RM60

So, the total bill came up to RM120, to my horror. The pain-killer was a generic drug, which probably wouldn't cost anything more than RM10, which means the antibiotic was expensive! The dentist also suggested me to do a canal treatment, and quoted the price as approximately RM1000!! I'm not sure if that's the fair price to do a canal treatment in Malaysia, but it certainly came as a shock to me...

Here comes the ever popular debate on which is the best healthcare system to have...

1. In the UK, the government, NHS (National Healthcare Services) pays for all your medical and dental expenses (up to a certain extent). All medical personals and dentists have to register with NHS. However, it is compromised by the high income tax that you have to pay... (up to 40% for certain high-income group).

2. In Malaysia, the government pays for a very limited amount of your medical expenses, and there is always a super-long waiting list for patients. There are lots of private clinics / dentists out there where you can go to.

All else equal, I think the Malaysian healthcare system is better, in that you pay less tax, and save up or buy insurance to cover your own medical expenses. It certainly rewards people who takes care of their health, and who are financially prepared for the future. The UK centralised healthcare system charges everyone the same, and treat everyone equally, be there drug addicts, heavy smokers, or binge-drinker.

And because the Malaysian system is less regulated, the downside is, these private doctors/dentists can always overcharge you any amount they want! A dentist can charge you RM2000 to remove a tooth, while charging someone who appears less able to pay a far cheaper price. (Notice that the private practisioner in Malaysia always prescribe medicines themselves, and wrote the price of the medicines/treatment on the diagnosis card, i.e. how much they want to charge this patient!)

Well, I think one important difference is that the UK doctors might treat the patient in the best interest of government's expenditure and patients' health; whereas the private doctors in Malaysia might put more priority on profit maximising...

Sorry to say, where are the medical ethics and integrity???? GRrrrr....