Today I had the pleasure of not only visiting but being a patient in a Buenos Aires hospital. Last week when I was in Chile I somehow hurt my knee, and the pain hasn't subsided since then so I finally decided I needed to get it checked out. Going to a hospital was a really interesting experience for me because, as I found out, they are very different here than in the United States. Thus, I am devoting a blog post about my experience.
My host mom accompanied me to el Hospital Aleman (the German Hospital) which was about 10 blocks from my house. Walking inside made me feel like I was in a US hospital.. everything was very clean, organized, bright, and in general very similar to our hospitals. We went to the trauma department (not sure why) and got in line for the reception. It only took about five minutes to talk to the woman, who took my passport info and charged me $200 pesos ($50 USD) for a consultation. I explained to my host mom why I thought it was weird that they charged me before they figured out what was wrong, but everyone coming into the hospital has to pay the same fee before they are seen. I also thought it was cool that everyone pays the same amount, whether or not you had health insurance (which they didn't even ask for). I'm not sure if people here have health insurance or not.
We waited about half an hour (no time at all compared to the 3 hour waiting periods in the ER in the US) and I was seen by a doctor who led me to a examination room, very similar to those in the US. He looked at my knee and asked a couple questions (only in spanish, of course) and then prescribed me a painkiller/anti-inflammatory medication. He told me that if my knee doesn't feel better within 5 days, I need to come back and get an MRI, which he also gave me a script for. He said the MRI would cost around $200 USD. The whole consultation took about 10-15 minutes, and we were on our way.
The most interesting part of my trip happened next when my host mom took me to the public hospital to get the medication. She explained that the public hospital has a discount of 20-40% off medications, so we went there to get my medicine. The public hospital is free for everyone and they will help you with whatever without charge. Going in the public hospital was like entering a horror movie. The building had graffiti on it, the windows were old, and it was very basement-like. The floors were dirty looking and the there was not much light, and the walls had papers all over them. The hospital seemed very dismal, and I was happy that my host mom had not taken me there, because the private hospital was definitely worth the $50.
My prescription of 10 pills only ended up costing $7.50 USD, without medical insurance or anything. Overall, a very successful trip! Hopefully my knee will be better by Wednesday and I don't have to go back for an MRI.
Update later about classes and everything else!
Ciao
D
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