Hospitalized for four years cost 7.3 million, ICU in the end is life-saving or in the money? Why is it so expensive

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One, in order to extend life, spend 7.3 million to live in ICU for four years

"At least in the hospital can make father get the best treatment, which is the best comfort for the family." Fan Zuxiang's daughter said this.

Shanghai old man Fan Zuxiang was 72 years old when he underwent a major abdominal surgery, at that time, but also a sudden brain infarction, but the good thing is that the treatment in time the old man recovered a life. But the condition is not stable, the old man needs to stay in the ICU for rehabilitation, this stay is 2 years time.

After 2 years of treatment, Fan Zuxiang's condition has improved. But just as everyone was waiting with hope for him to be discharged from the hospital to go home, an accident happened. 2 years later, one day the old man suddenly had another cerebral infarction, the rescue still saved his life, but he could no longer move on his own after that, and he could not make a very limited feedback to the outside world's sight, could not speak or make big movements, he could only smile and slightly move his fingers in response, the doctor said that the old man was in the state of moderate consciousness disorder, and needed to continue to live in the ICU. The doctor said the old man has been in a moderate state of consciousness disorder, need to continue to stay in the ICU, this stay is another two years.

Fan Zuxiang's story was later reported by the media and sparked widespread discussion on the Internet. Some netizens made a calculation that the cost of staying in the ICU is at least 5,000 yuan a day, and the total cost of staying in the ICU for 4 years should be more than 7.3 million yuan.

In this regard, some people believe that this is not worth it, the old man so living is very undignified. And some people think it's a sign of filial piety.

Two, unable to afford, the man broke into the ICU to pull out his wife's oxygen tubes

31-year-old Ms. Liu (a pseudonym) because of acute heart failure, pulmonary edema, at any time life-threatening, was rushed into the ICU for treatment to maintain life. In just one week of admission, the cost quickly rose from 20,000 to more than 50,000 yuan. In response, her husband Lao Xu (a pseudonym) has been under tremendous pressure.

One day, Mr. Xu took advantage of a visit to the hospital to break into the ICU without wearing protective clothing or shoe covers and tried to remove his wife's oxygen tube. Luckily, a nurse stopped him in time to prevent irreversible consequences.

Asked why he did it, Lao Xu said he was helpless. He said he and his wife are five households, no source of income, the family has a mentally defective daughter to take care of, watching the medical expenses every day keep rising, really can not afford it. That's why he thought of pulling out the oxygen tube to take his wife home.

Three, ICU why charge so expensive?

The same is to stay in the ICU, some people in order to continue the life of spending a huge amount of property, but some people because they can not afford it, and forcibly removed his wife's oxygen tube, are because the ICU spend a lot of money, why is the ICU so expensive?

ICU literally understand is to strengthen the treatment of the ward, but also we often say the intensive care unit, the ICU ward is currently mainly admitted to three types of patients:

One is some sudden organ damage, resulting in life-threatening patients with acute and critical illnesses. Such as sudden cardiac infarction, respiratory failure patients; second, some of the higher risk patients; third, acute exacerbation of chronic disease patients, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, tumors and renal failure patients.

In addition to these three categories of patients, some patients who wish to donate organs will also be admitted to the ICU to stabilize organ function before donation to ensure that they can be normal and complete donation.

In fact, ICU beds are not expensive, mainly expensive in these places

1, high cost of equipment

ICU has the most complete medical equipment in the whole hospital, the configuration of a bed requires an average of about one million dollars. And most of the patients need to be monitored 24 hours a day, in the middle of the need for ventilators, ECMO and bedside blood purification and other items to support, these items need to charge by the hour, in the process of treatment also need to be related to the cost of consumables.

2, high labor costs

ICU wards are inseparable from people 24 hours a day, and the need for medical staff need a longer training cycle, before taking up the job also need to obtain the national qualification of critical care specialists, skilled in the use of a variety of high-end instruments. Compared with the general ward, ICU wards need to be equipped with more medical staff, so the cost will naturally go up.

3, drugs expensive

ICU patients with more serious infections, there may also be multiple drug resistance, the use of ordinary drugs is difficult to play a good effect. At this time it is necessary to use imported antibacterial drugs to prevent infection, the price of these drugs ranging from several hundred to several thousand, most of them are not in the medical insurance reimbursement, the need for patients to pay completely out of pocket.

4, auxiliary checkups

ICU patients' conditions develop very quickly, in order to better diagnose the patient's condition at each stage of the changes in hospitalization need to be repeated, many times for blood tests and a variety of tests, in order to better adjust the treatment plan. These tests also require a fee, although the single cost is not high, but the number of times a day may be up to 10 times or more, adding up to a considerable cost.

Four, how many people can get out of the ICU alive?

Professor Yang Yi, director of the Department of Intensive Care Medicine at CUHK Hospital, said that 90 percent of patients admitted to the ICU can be transferred to the general ward.

Most of the patients not only survived after treatment, but also had a good quality of life.The purpose of treatment in the ICU ward is not only to prolong the survival period of the patients, but also to let the patients have a quality of life.

The ICU unit does cost a lot, but it is a lifesaver for many patients. Healthcare professionals are working hard to save patients and help them regain their health, and we need to be more mindful and more caring of our lives and health in our lives.