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Healthcare in Mexico: Different Approaches
The whole attitude toward health care is different in Mexico. I suspect that most Americans and Canadians view Mexican health care as somehow sub-standard. I've been here long enough to come to view it as different but not particularly less-than what I'm used to in the US.
So what are the differences?
Well, cost is a big one. A doctor's visit here costs $5 - $10 usually, less than the usual "co-pay" in the US. Many more medications are available 'over-the-counter', meaning without a prescription, here than in the north. And those two factors alone make health care more accessible here than in the US.
Availaibility of doctors and hospitals is another big difference but in the opposite direction. Last year we had a physician in the village but this year we don't. That means either taking the bus or driving or taking a cab to the nearest doc -- who happens to be about 30 minutes away. Fortunately, the bus service is excellent and the roads are pretty good, so practically speaking, the distance doesn't turn out to be much of a barrier. The nearest hospital is about 20 minutes away but no bus goes there so, for me, it is essentially inaccessible. But there are several hospitals with labs, MRIs, etc available in Puerto Vallarta. That's about an hour bus ride for me.
Another difference is the issue of the type of treatment. The Mexican doctors I've met seem much less inclined than docs in the states to prescribe drugs as their first approach. They seem more likely than most of their northern counterparts to look carefully at lifestyle issues and start there.
Obviously these differences are not universal; they are just what I've experienced. Specialists are less available here, so I am still returning to the US to see my neurologist. I could also go to Guadalajara for an MS specialist, but I'm sort of used to my doc in the states. I've been seeing the same one since my diagnosis 17 years ago. I'll probably keep seeing her for the time being.
Related Topics: MS in the Workplace,MS Health Center
Technorati Tags: multiplesclerosis, healthcare, mexico
So what are the differences?
Well, cost is a big one. A doctor's visit here costs $5 - $10 usually, less than the usual "co-pay" in the US. Many more medications are available 'over-the-counter', meaning without a prescription, here than in the north. And those two factors alone make health care more accessible here than in the US.
Availaibility of doctors and hospitals is another big difference but in the opposite direction. Last year we had a physician in the village but this year we don't. That means either taking the bus or driving or taking a cab to the nearest doc -- who happens to be about 30 minutes away. Fortunately, the bus service is excellent and the roads are pretty good, so practically speaking, the distance doesn't turn out to be much of a barrier. The nearest hospital is about 20 minutes away but no bus goes there so, for me, it is essentially inaccessible. But there are several hospitals with labs, MRIs, etc available in Puerto Vallarta. That's about an hour bus ride for me.
Another difference is the issue of the type of treatment. The Mexican doctors I've met seem much less inclined than docs in the states to prescribe drugs as their first approach. They seem more likely than most of their northern counterparts to look carefully at lifestyle issues and start there.
Obviously these differences are not universal; they are just what I've experienced. Specialists are less available here, so I am still returning to the US to see my neurologist. I could also go to Guadalajara for an MS specialist, but I'm sort of used to my doc in the states. I've been seeing the same one since my diagnosis 17 years ago. I'll probably keep seeing her for the time being.
Related Topics: MS in the Workplace,MS Health Center
Technorati Tags: multiplesclerosis, healthcare, mexico
