By Hopefully this isn’t anything serious for long time American diplomatic icon Henry Kissinger:
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was admitted to a hospital in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday with a stomach virus, a doctor told CNN.
“He is getting hydration and holding his food down,” Dr. John Linton of Yonsei Severance Hospital said. “All his signs are normal. We hope to send him on his way tomorrow, but he is an elderly gentleman, so we are watching him like a hawk.”
The state-run Yonhap news agency reported that Kissinger, 86, arrived in the South Korean capital Wednesday for a security forum and met with President Lee Myung-bak on Friday.
A special medical team did a check-up and MRI scan and took X-rays, but found nothing serious, staff sources at the hospital said.
Kissinger will likely remain at the hospital overnight and will probably be released Sunday, they said. [CNN]
8:07 am on March 13th, 2010 1
Never and I mean never would I choose to receive treatment in a Korean hospital or from a doctor educated in the Korean medical schools. I'll bet a dollar to a dime Kissinger thought about a medevac long and hard.
If you are able to make $500,000 a year in the US why would you choose to make $250,000 in Korea?
All the medical equipment in the world is useless unless you can master its usefulness.
Don't look at the entire US medical system because the best doctors are individuals not institutions.
House does not speak Hangul.
My best friend recently received a certification as a Nurse Anesthetist. Her first job offer was $152,000 a year. What's the pay in Korea?
My friend’s sister is a nurse in the Korean medical system. She attended 6 months of nursing school before receiving her nursing license. My ex-wife went to nursing school in the US for 2 years and that’s after she graduated with a BS in Biology.
I would like to hear about how great or bad the Korean doctors are because I don't know. I'm sure there are some great doctors here, but I wouldn't want to take a chance with them. I know in the US a doctor pays malpractice insurance and there are medical review boards that post complaints about doctors. Mistakes don't happen too often because of this oversight. Does Korea have something similar? If there are any Korean docs reading this, how much do you pay annually for medical malpractice insurance?
9:11 am on March 13th, 2010 2
I would only comment that judging doctors by the cost of their malpractice premiums really sheds no light on the matter. Korea does not have the lawsuit culture that America has. That is ONE of the reasons our health care system is screwed up and overly expensive. While the care may be great it is bankrupting us.
One an aside, my wife recently went to 121 and we were charged $471 for a bottle of nexium and $75 for a bottle of ibuprofen.
10:53 am on March 13th, 2010 3
Now we're talk'in about the medical system? all over Henry Kissinger chomping down on some bad Kimchee?
11:07 am on March 13th, 2010 4
How can kimchi be bad? What does bad kimchi smell like?
11:09 am on March 13th, 2010 5
So how do you explain South Korean life expectancy blowing past the US and the gap increasing every year? Better US health care?
12:43 pm on March 13th, 2010 6
Lemmy,
There are several types of nurses in Korea… from a short course that allows one to be a hospital receptionist/doctor's assistant to a four year academic nursing degree. A real nursing certification, as per American expectations, is available.
This is reflected in the huge influx of Korean nurses who are encouraged to work in America.
An interesting point to consider:
"About one-quarter of all licensed physicians in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US are from the developing world, with India, the Philippines and Pakistan providing the majority."
2:19 pm on March 13th, 2010 7
I'm not sure what an 86 year old can contribute to any forum. Korean doctors at major hospitals seem competent, but see too many patients in a day. Average about one patient every five minutes. The 121 prices seem consistent from year to year, my experience is 121 averages are 10 times higher than local hospitals.
11:38 pm on March 13th, 2010 8
Universal health care for all Koreans
vs
health care system for only those who can afford them in the US. (but even that, it sucks).
Read the comparisons of US vs Korean health care.
http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/01/healthcare…
It's really no wonder why Koreans are out living the Americans. And the gap is growing every year. Koreans get better treatment, better heath care, better everything. Most Americans will go broke and bankrupt if and when they get seriously ill for a long time.
1:26 am on March 14th, 2010 9
"If you are able to make $500,000 a year in the US why would you choose to make $250,000 in Korea?"
Some of my friends who are doctors here in Korea would have to take a huge pay cut to earn $500 000 per year.
"My friend’s sister is a nurse in the Korean medical system. She attended 6 months of nursing school before receiving her nursing license."
I doubt she's a registered nurse. To be a registered nurse in Korea, you must first get a BSc in Nursing and then pass the licensing exam. She's probably nurses aid.
"My best friend recently received a certification as a Nurse Anesthetist. Her first job offer was $152,000 a year. What’s the pay in Korea?"
She's a specialized nurse, so it's probably not fair to compare her pay with that of any regular registered nurse…but, yes, nurses don't earn as much as they should in Korea…Then again, the Korean health care system isn't a money making scheme on the scale that it is in the United States.
"Never and I mean never would I choose to receive treatment in a Korean hospital or from a doctor educated in the Korean medical schools…I would like to hear about how great or bad the Korean doctors are because I don’t know."
Ironic, don't you think?
There are great doctors in South Korea and there are terrible ones, just as there are in the United States. The cool thing about Korea, though, is that it won't cost you an arm and a leg to get treated by the best, nor will you have to be on a waiting list for 6 months to a year. Yes, universal health care can work. South Korea is a prime example of it.
1:31 am on March 14th, 2010 10
What's the point having the best doctor if nobody can afford to see them?