Chapter 1431 R&D Costs of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The middle-aged man yelled again, "Quickly get the needle out of me, or else..."He stopped suddenly, because he felt the constant pain in his head had vanished.Alice had her own business to attend to in the Federal Capital, and only just managed to free up some time to get here today.

She said enthusiastically, "Teacher, how is everything prepared Do you need any help"

Ye Bufan smiled faintly: "Everything is ready. We traditional Chinese medicine practitioners aren't like Western doctors. We don't need much equipment or tools, just people."

"Oh! Teacher, how are you planning to charge Have you set the pricing standards yet"

"Uh... I forgot."

Ye Bufan only then remembered that he was running a clinic, not an open-door clinic, and the charging standards were indeed not yet set.

Cao Xinghua said, “We old men were so excited that we forgot about charging, but it’s not too late to set it now.”

After he finished speaking, he looked at Ye Bufan: "Senior brother, what do you think about setting this standard How much should we charge for our consultation fees"

After thinking for a moment, Ye Bufan stretched out a finger: "The consultation fee will be 100 yuan."

Lou Baining said, "Senior brother, isn't 100 yuan a bit high That's about ten dollars in American currency."

Ye Bufan shook his head. "You misunderstood. I said 100 yuan means dollars. Our consultation fee is 100 dollars once, and the treatment is also 100 dollars. As for the price of medicine, it's market-based, according to the current market price."

Cao Xinghua looked stunned: "Huh Senior brother, $100 is almost 800 yuan, isn't the consultation fee a bit high"

"And we just officially entered the M country, and raised the price too high at once. Could this have negative consequences"

"At 100 yuan, this price is already very cheap. Since we are just entering the market, we can't set the price too low."

Ye Bufan said, "Precisely because we have just opened the market, we cannot give people the impression that traditional Chinese medicine is cheap."

"Our Traditional Chinese Medicine is no worse than any other medical practice, and there's no reason for it to be cheaper!"

In fact, he didn't set this price arbitrarily, but after comprehensive consideration.

Given their net worth, $100 or even $1,000 wouldn't be a high price. After all, they are the top traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in China, and appointments with them are always in high demand.

But they had just arrived in the U.S., representing not individual masters of Traditional Chinese Medicine, but the overall impression of TCM, which is why the price was set at $100.

"This..."

Caoxinghua seemed to feel that something was wrong, but he couldn't say what it was right away.

Wang Xuandé hesitated for a moment and said, "Physician Immortal, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate."

"Lao Wang, you can say whatever you want."

Ye Bufan's impression of this old man is still very good recently, otherwise he wouldn't have kept him in the United States.

"That's right." Wang Xuande carefully adjusted his words, saying, "Back in China, our Divine Needle King's fees were quite high."

"At that time, the medical immortal taught me that a doctor should be compassionate and not just pursue profit. But our prices now seem to be even higher than they were back then..."

He stopped speaking here, his face full of trepidation, afraid that he might say something wrong and upset the other party.

"Wang Lao, I understand what you mean."

Ye Bufan smiled slightly, without any hint of dissatisfaction. Then he said, "China is China, and the United States is the United States. Since countries are different, charging standards will naturally be different."

Wang Xuande looked puzzled: "Old man, I'm slow-witted. Please enlighten me, Immortal Doctor."

"The reason is simple, just look at Western medicine. How much does a drug developed in the US cost in their own country How much does it cost when it comes to China"

Their medications cost nearly several times, even dozens or hundreds of times, more in our place compared to their home country.

In fact, Western medicines are all chemically synthesized and manufactured, with low costs. A pill costs only a few cents or a few dollars at most, but it can be sold for hundreds or even thousands of yuan. You can easily go bankrupt by taking medicine. The most typical example is the drug Gleevec used to treat leukemia.

Why is it so expensive The reason is simple: the research and development costs are high.

Let's not talk about whether or not Western medicine prices are reasonable. Does traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have no research and development costs Of course it does, our TCM practitioners didn't just fall from the sky.

From Shen Nong tasting a hundred herbs in ancient times, through the continuous refinement and improvement by renowned TCM masters such as Hua Tuo, Bian Que, Zhang Zhongjing, and Li Shizhen, has come the TCM system we have today.

This is our research and development, taking 5000 years, mobilizing countless excellent talents. In terms of value assessment, it is higher than any medical system.

If we are descendants of the Chinese nation, we won't say anything. This is an inheritance left to us by our ancestors; there is no need to consider research and development costs at all.

But for foreigners who have been consistently paying our research and development fees, that's a different story. We still need to collect that money.

After he finished speaking, the several old men present suddenly had a realization and nodded in agreement.

Wang Xuande bowed deeply: “Listening to the Immortal Doctor’s words is better than reading ten years of books. This old man has learned a lot.”

After the price was set, Sophie made a price list and posted it on the door, then she was in charge of collecting the money.

Not long after it opened, a Chinese man hurried over. He was in his thirties, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and he rushed into the clinic with an anxious look on his face.

Upon entering, everyone realized that this person's eyebrows and facial features were not in their usual positions. In simpler terms, his mouth was crooked and his eyes slanted.

Sophie asked, "Sir, do you see patients"

"Balderdash, why else would I come to see you if I wasn't ill"

The man with glasses had slurred speech due to a stroke, but he could barely make out what was being said.

"Then please settle the bill, it's $100."

"What What did you say" The man was stunned for a moment, then looked at the sign above the door, then back at Sophie, "Isn't this a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic"

Sophie nodded. "That's right, this is authentic Traditional Chinese Medicine."

The man with glasses immediately angrily exclaimed, "Chinese medicine charges so much for a visit, don't you guys go rob people Even if I went to a big hospital and saw a Western doctor, it wouldn't cost this much. What gives you the right to be so expensive Don't you want to open your clinic anymore"

Ye Bufan frowned and stepped forward, saying: "According to your meaning, traditional Chinese medicine should be cheaper than Western medicine, right"

"Of course!" The bespectacled man retorted confidently, "You can fool others, but you can't fool me. Do you think I haven't lived in China before"

"I grew up and lived in China for over twenty years. After graduating from Shui Mu University, I chose to stay in the US."

Ye Bufan asked, "Then I ask you, are you a Chinese person or an American person now"

"Of course I'm from country M. Do you think I went to Shuilu University for nothing I stayed here as a special talent and am already a formal citizen."

"Note, not a green card holder, but a formal citizen."

Here, the man with glasses flashed a smug expression, though his slanted mouth and crooked eyes made it look rather strange.

Ye Bufan said: "Since you are a formal citizen of M country, that's right. Our TCM clinic provides free medical care for Chinese people and charges 100 yuan for people from M country. If you want to see a doctor, please pay the fee. If you don't want to see a doctor, please leave."

After the man with glasses revealed that he was a formal citizen of the United States, he had expected to see envious looks from others. Instead, he got this result and was instantly annoyed.

"Are you kidding me I'm a US citizen, and you, a Chinese person, are charging me extra"o eat the tiger" It's about making yourself seem low-key and unassuming so that others underestimate you, but never treat them like pigs!"Uh..."Jiang Fangzhou's face was full of misery, realizing that...