For Chinese patients, if you are worried on communication in language with Dr. Francis Low, you don't need to worry.
Dr. Francis Low speaks English, Mandarin, or local dialects - Cantonese and Hokkian. So no worries on how to communicate with him if you feel your English is not good.
Overall charges, just a brief summary, for new patient, you probably may need to prepared around RM300. The charges may be lower if should you are given with just 1 or 2 types of medicines, or maybe prescribed for a half month's medication or 1 month's, and plus the consultation fee included.
For returning patients, it's subjective to :
1)how many types of medicines given
2)for how long (as in how many month's) medicines given
3) consultation fee included in
For people who are abusing these psychotic medicines, example self over dosing on day and night, or not following the instructed amount, or taking it with alcohol that may causes danger to yourself, you will end up either Dr. Francis will have to give you a serious warnings, or he will rejected you as his patient and send you to other psychiatrists. Coz no doctors wants their patients to abuse the medicines given as personal suicide intention. You may try your luck with several psychiatrists with all sorts of medicines for suicide attempt, but you don't forget, these doctors they have an association and will know your intentions for suicide. At the end, is either you will end up with no psychiatrists want to take up your case or either you'll ended in mental asylum / mental institution.
If you are seriously wants to be treated, you have to play your role as in cooperating with your doctor to gain his trust over times in evaluating your behavioral.
And another tip, do call up the clinic first to make an appointment. Coz for Dr. Francis he is not everyday in the clinic - Klinik Pakar Au Yong (Clinic Specialist Dr. Au Yong). This clinic has 2 very experienced doctors / psychiatrists - Dr. Au Yong and Dr. Francis Low.
Certain days Dr. Francis is on duty at Tung Shin Hospital. Same as certain days Dr. Au Yong is on duty on other hospital. About Dr. Au Yong I'm not too sure about him, I'm not his patient, but I had saw him a few times. He also had lots of patients. Like I'd said, both these 2 doctors are very experienced and age around in their 50's.
Dr. Francis was also a lecturer in M.U for younger or junior psychiatrists. This you can rest assured, I'm revealing my honest comment here, Dr. Francis is really an experienced doctor in both Psychiatrically and Psychologically, and also a Neurologist (Neuro Surgeon / Brain's specialist doctor).
Don't just walked in the clinic without making an appointment, coz you might ended waiting for very long time due to patients that had made appointments. And also to avoid the days Dr. Francis is not in the clinic. If go Tung Shin hospital also can, but is the same thing, you too had to made an appointment first. Or else, you still gotto wait.
For the clinic's nurses / assistants, they all are Chinese too, able to speak in English, Mandarin, Cantonese.
But keep your conversation with the nurses short, just ask what you need to know on the timing, date, doctor's available schedule.
Don't asked other than these questions, coz the nurses they have no idea on the fees / charges, or types of medicines. Coz these questions, it all are subjective to different issues such as what type of medicine will be giving, how many type or types of medicines will be giving and for how long's medicine will be giving. This is after you had see the doctor yourself then after that the total fee will be charged. The nurses can't provide you further information(s) on these questions.
And partly they are very very busy to keep preparing patient's medicines at the same time as you call in and if you ask too much of none related questions. They might sounded a "little impatient" or some said "rude".
But actually is not rude, they are really busied I can tell you honestly. So they have no much time spending on the phone conversation with you, they need to prepare medicines, handling phone calls, calling patient's turn to go in for consultation sessions for both Dr. Francis Low and Dr. Au Yong's appointments, after that prepared the prescribed medicines by both doctors for their patients, the nurses need to explain to the patients on the types of medicines and the instructions to take the medicines (example taking on day or night, how much to take, and each types are for what purposes). After that they need to handled in payments from patients.
So, hope you can understand they are really busied, not rude. Don't be taken a back by the way they answering and assumed they are rude. When you're there and after meet them, you'll know they are actually nice people.
Trust me, I had seen them busied until no time taking their lunch or hardly walked away from their seats to go toilet (LOL). Is true.
You don't expect as seem like a five stars hospital with lots of nurses, some even had the free time to gossip or take a nap in the nurse's resting lounge.
And also you don't walk in just like that and with your previous doctor's medicines, and trying to buy medicines over the counter from the nurses. They don't operate in such ways. You still have to see either one of the doctor / psychiatrists to get the evaluations on should you need the medicine or they think you are just an addict. So, keep in mind, no selling medicines over the counter by the nurses. And these medicines are under "controlled drugs". It's not like you're walking into a pharmacy and buy some aspirin / pain killers over the counter by the pharmacist.
Lastly, overall fee / charges comparation, I would said is moderate. Not crazily expensive neither cheap like you're going to a government hospital's psychiatrists.
If comparing to private hospital's psychiatrist's fees, like example private hospitals like Gleneagles, Prince Court, Sunway Medical, Subang Jaya Medical Center (SJMC), their charges fee is definitely much more higher than Clinic Specialist Au Yong's.
If you want something very low fee around RM10 - RM50, perhaps you can go to Hospital University Malaya at PJ.
But let me tell you how is like. First, you gotto go very early in the morning say around 06:30am or 07:00am to wait with the que, the psychiatrist's clinic opens at (I think is) 08:30am or 09:00am. There will be lots of people waiting everyday. Then on say around 10 -15 minutes before the clinic is open, the nurses will start giving out "numbers card".
In a day, they (Hospital University Malaya) will only take in / treat up to 50 patients.
If you can't grab a number of that day, you'll need to keep going back there to wait for your luck to able to grab a number on that day. If you managed to grab a number of that day, you'll be able to see a doctor / psychiatrist.
Their fee or charges are very low, I think is RM10.00 or below RM50.00. But the medicines they give you all are generics, means are made in Malaysia or lower milligrams comparing to originals. So, will it be effective or not, it's up to individuals.
Certainly, for high end private hospitals, they will give you all imported original medicines from overseas, definitely it works for individual's issues. That's why their fee /charges are crazily expensive with the doctor's consultation's fee included.
For Klinik Pakar Au Yong / Clinic Specialist Au Yong, their medicines have both, original and generics. Their generic's medicines are not means made in Malaysia. But is also imported from overseas like example India. But is still better quality than made in Malaysia's generics.
So, all I know the information(s) are given here. Hope can able to provide some ideas or guidelines if you're new.
