What kind of medical care will you find overseas?
This isn’t a post I planned to write, but you take what life deals out and this may be useful for when you start living overseas.
This morning I went to the Baptist Hospital (Hospital Bautista) to get a mole examined. It showed up about a month ago, and looked a little odd, so I figured it was best to have it removed and biopsied.
Here the process, in case you’re wondering about medical care in Paraguay.
Getting an appointment
I walked into the non-emergency entrance and there was an information desk there. Fortunately, between my Spanish and the English of one of the people there, I was able to get into the computer system.
They gave me an ID card with my name and account number, to use for any future visits to the hospital (hopefully, there won’t be many).
Then I had to pay for my appointment with the doctor. Since I’m not a member of any health plan here, I would be paying for everything by cash. It cost 50,000 Guaranis for the checkup – about US$ 11.50.
The examination
I was told to have a seat outside the doctor’s office, and he’d call my name when it was my turn. After he saw a couple other patients (about 20-30 minutes), he called me into his office.
I showed him the mole, and he agreed that it should be removed and biopsied.
He wrote a few things on a prescription sheet, and told me to take them to the cashier to pay and then return to his office.
The total cost for everything was 463,000 Guaranis – about US$ 104.
This covered the doctor removing the mole (about 300,000 Guaranis), the pathologist doing the biopsy (about 150,000 Guaranis), and the supplies needed for the procedure (about 10,000 Guaranis)
After paying, I went back to his office. He had me come in as soon as he finished seeing the patient in his office.
The procedure
The procedure was very close to what I’d had done in the past by a dermatologist in the US.
He gave me a shot of local anesthesia near the mole, then removed it and sent it off to be tested. In the US, the dermatologist sewed it up with a couple of stitches. Here, they just put some sterile gauze on it and bandaged it.
While removing the mole, the doctor checked to see if I was feeling any pain (I wasn’t).
After the procedure, the doctor wrote me a prescription for some Ibuprofen to take over the next couple of days. But I can’t say that I’m in any pain and really feel a need for them.
If you’re allergic to anything (anesthesia, antibiotics, etc.), you may want to have that written down on a piece of paper, in the local language. It’s difficult enough trying to discuss medical terms in your native language.
The results
The doctor said he’d have the results in eight days. So I’ll check back with him then and let you know what happens if anything else needs to be done.
My opinions of the process
Even though it’s something I wish I didn’t need to do, I’m happy with how the process went.
In the US, even with the good health insurance I had, it generally would have taken me longer to get an appointment with a doctor for a non-emergency procedure.
The actual medical procedure was very similar to what I’ve seen in the US.
The doctor didn’t spend any time going over my medical history. However, I expect that was because this was a fairly simple and straightforward procedure.
I think I got the lab results back a little faster in the US, but not much faster.
As far as the cost, I probably would have paid more for my deductible in the US than I paid in total for the whole procedure in Paraguay.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks /gracias for a clear /concise report. I almost felt I was in the doctor’s office.
You’re welcome. Hopefully, this story will help make things a little less suprising for anyone who needs to make a trip to a hospital overseas.
Since I have lived in developing countries, especially in Ethiopia, I saw so many problems related to rendering health services. Some of that if the number of patients is large and can pay a large amount of money, but the number of doctors is very small. Because of this, the patients do not get appropriat treatments.
That’s true. Even if you have the money to pay for medical services, you need to have doctors available.
For anyone with medical problems, make sure you’ll have the medical services you require wherever you move. Also check for the availability and price of medications you currently take (or appropriate substitutes).
Hi Scott,
I agree with your assessment of the Baptist Hospital. My family and I had visited there when we lived there. They have improved a lot. Also down a few blocks there is a doctor who has a clinic . He speaks perfect English. His son also works as a doctor at the Baptist Hospital. His name is Dr. Schmidt. He studied in the USA. His prices are very reasonable and he makes referrals to the Baptist Hospital if there is something more needed. I hope that helps.
Thanks for the information, Danny. I’ll have to look for Dr. Schmidt’s clinic. It would be good to have a regular doctor for checkups and non-emergency issues.