Section 42
Visiting the Doctor

In China, when people get ill, they usually go to the hospital.
In the west, people will go to their doctor.
Every person will be registered with a doctor, who gets to know them well.
The doctor will keep a medical record which is a history of your health.
Usually, before going to the doctor, we will telephone for an appointment.
Then we go to the doctor’s surgery at the appointed time, and wait until the doctor is ready.
We will wait in the waiting room with the other people who want to see the doctor.
When it is our turn to go in, we usually go in alone and in private.
Then the doctor will ask some questions before he or she decides what to do.
Usually the doctor will prescribe medicines for us to take.
If there is something very serious, then the doctor may decide to send us to hospital.
If we are too ill to go to the surgery, the doctor will visit us at our home.
In Europe, the doctor will be paid by the government, not by the patient.
However, we may have to pay for the medicine that is prescribed.
Doctors are very respected members of the community.