Which hospital is better for disease screening?

In fact, there is no optimal choice for everyone. The core is to match your own screening needs. There is no need to blindly squeeze into the top three, and you must not choose an unqualified institution.

Last week, I accompanied my uncle, who has been smoking for 30 years, for early lung cancer screening. At first, the whole family wanted to grab the number of the best local tertiary hospital. After waiting for three days, there was no trace of the number. Later, I asked my child who works at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said that the district’s tertiary respiratory department, which is a 10-minute walk from our home, has long been equipped with low-dose spiral CT that meets the early screening standards. The doctor who reads the imaging department has more than ten years of experience in lung cancer imaging diagnosis, which can fully meet the needs of early screening. We made an appointment that afternoon and completed the examination the next day. The result came out that everything was fine. The whole family was relieved. It saved almost a week compared to rushing to a big hospital to get an appointment.

Of course, this does not mean that you can just choose the hospital near your home for all screenings. If you have a clear family history of serious diseases, for example, if two or more direct relatives have suffered from diseases with clear genetic tendencies such as breast cancer and colon cancer, or you have experienced abnormal symptoms such as unexplained weight loss and pain, and you just want to eliminate the risk of serious diseases through screening, it is safer to give priority to a top-level hospital with strong corresponding specialties. A while ago, my colleague felt a small lump in her breast. The maternity and child care hospital near her home took a mammography and reported a Category 4a nodule. She was not sure whether it was benign or malignant, so she went directly to the breast department of the local cancer hospital. The doctor there had seen many similar cases, and arranged a further needle biopsy for her on the same day. The final result was benign, and she did not do any unnecessary examinations and wasted no time.

If you are just doing routine annual health screenings, such as basic items such as blood routine, liver and kidney function, thyroid ultrasound, and general chest X-ray, regular public physical examination centers and even community health service centers are fully capable of doing the job. My basic physical examination last year was done at a community hospital. When I registered, my family doctor also updated my health file and reminded me that I can make an appointment for free cancer screening in my jurisdiction when I turn 30 this year. It is much more comfortable than queuing for two hours and five minutes at a large hospital. If the results are abnormal, the community doctor will directly tell you which department of the higher-level hospital you should go to for review. There is no need to blindly search Baidu Panic.

Nowadays, many people choose private medical examination institutions with good service and no need to queue. The evaluations of friends around me are also quite polarized. Those who like it feel that they will be guided throughout the whole process and there is no need to queue. They can also help connect with the follow-up Green Pass for tertiary medical treatment. There are also many people who have fallen through the trap. A while ago, I came across a netizen who shared that in a certain Internet celebrity private No abnormality was found during gastroscopy at a stereoscopic examination institution. Three months later, I had stomach pain and went to a public hospital for examination. It was already early-stage gastric cancer. Ultimately, the core of choosing such an institution is to confirm whether it has the corresponding diagnosis and treatment qualifications and whether the doctor who examines you has a formal license. Don't just make an order based on the cheap package and luxurious decoration.

Anyway, my logic for choosing a screening hospital for my family is very simple. For basic screening, I choose a regular institution close to my home. For special screening, I choose a hospital with a good reputation for the corresponding specialty. When I encounter difficult problems that I am not sure about, I go to the top tertiary hospitals to find experts. I don’t bother myself or waste precious medical resources. It is cost-effective no matter what.