The Truth About Health Care in Ecuador
By Dan Prescher
By Dan Prescher
When
my wife, Suzan, and I heard that we could get what is commonly called
an "executive health assessment" in Quito, Ecuador, we decided to give
it a try.
Our
primary care physician, Dr. Davalos, works with Hospital Metropolitano
in Quito to put together a comprehensive package of tests that cover all
the health bases over a two-day period. This seemed like a great way to
combine health and happiness to us... Living up north in the small town
of Cotacachi, we looked forward to our executive health assessment as a
good chance to get our big-city Quito fix of fun and food at the same
time.
Our
plan was to stay in one of our favorite hotels, Hotel Sebastian, during
the two-day test period and enjoy the nightlife of the Mariscal
neighborhood the night between our tests.
But
by the end of the first day of blood drawing, sonograms, mammograms,
x-rays, treadmill tests, and some tests on things we didn’t even know
could or should be tested, we learned that we were staying in the
hospital overnight. Not to enjoy the many gastronomic pleasures of
Quito, but to prepare ourselves for the next day’s colonoscopy and
endoscopy...
....a
literal stem-to-stern look into the darkest recesses of our bodies that
meant we had to spend the night making sure there was nothing left
inside to block the view.
I’ll
leave the rest to the imagination, but it wasn’t the night we had in
mind. And not knowing we’d be staying at the hospital, we’d left all of
our personal items in our room at Hotel Sebastian. No worries, though...
one phone call to the hotel and all of our things were packed up and
delivered directly to our hospital room by private courier. Hotel
Sebastian charged us $6 to do so, but didn’t charge us for the room we’d
booked for that night.
At
the end of it all, Dr. Davalos and the specialists at Hospital
Metropolitano had collected a mountain of data on us. A few days later
we received it all in a folder, including all test results and a CD with
the images taken during the exams, along with a detailed explanation by
Dr. Davalos of what all the results meant.
Turns out we’re both healthy with no major medical issues. Good news.
We
paid out of pocket for the health assessment, and the final bill for
both of us, including the overnight in semi-private double room, was
$3,951.39. I’ve compared this to prices for similar executive health
assessments in the U.S., and I figure we paid about half the going U.S.
rate—and far less if you factor in the overnight stay.
Lessons learned?
1.
"Executive" means something different in Latin America. In the U.S., an
executive health assessment is one that is done quickly in a spa-like
atmosphere so the executive feels pampered and can return to his or her
important business as quickly as possible.
In Latin America, or
at least in Quito, Ecuador, an executive health assessment is one that
includes as many tests as possible on someone who doesn’t necessarily
need to be in the office for a few days.
2.
If you’re curious about the specifics of any treatment you’re about to
receive in Latin America... ask. If you don’t, it will be assumed—even
by doctors with excellent English—that you will be a normal Latin
American patient and happily do whatever you’re told to do by medical
authorities when and for as long as you’re told to do it. We assumed
we’d have the night between our test days free to do as we pleased. We
were wrong, and it wasn’t Dr. Davalos’ fault for not telling us. It was
our fault for not asking. But who knew...
3.
After 12 years abroad, we’ve already learned this lesson, but it’s
worth repeating: In almost any major metropolitan area throughout Latin
America, you can get U.S. quality health care provided with modern
equipment by world-class professionals for a fraction of the cost in the
States.
Even
though Suzan and I had to postpone our Quito restaurant binge until
after our assessment, it was worth it. And if we never have another
endoscopy or colonoscopy again, it will be too soon.
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