Ecuador: A serious look at Hospital Care

gringotree.com/Russ Reina
Getting Flexible / Hospital Care in Ecuador

It really doesn’t matter if you believe you’re fully covered when you find out that if your spouse is to get a blood transfusion, YOU still have to get the blood and pay for it! Be prepared to roll with the punches to get what you need and don’t expect to get all that you want. Learn to make your best choice based on what is. Using that caution will actually help you to have many pleasant surprises.

The key piece that is missing here, and is so different than in North America, is that very few of the systems for hospital care are standardized. They are not linked with each other in networks capable of providing uniform service and a well-coordinated “chain of care” from onset of incident through discharge and follow-up. Generally – especially when faced with an emergency – you have to make that up as you go if you desire North American standards. It’s doable, but the path can be quite harrowing.

What and who is available today, may not be available tomorrow. If where you are at is threatening your well-being, the time it will take you to get to another facility, with properly trained personnel, could significantly affect your recovery time. No matter where you end up, you may have to both obtain and pay for life-saving materials. You may need to provide your own translator, personal attendant, and “runner” during a hospital stay. If an emergency places you in a nearby hospital, you may even have to obtain your own food until you can be transferred elsewhere.

Time and place have everything to do with the level of health care you can expect in Ecuador. My point is, the more involved or complicated your medical needs, the more care you must take to prepare, in advance, to manage your progress through the system.

The more money you have makes it more likely you’ll be able to be taken care of at a private facility. In Ecuador, however, you often encounter a whole lot of variables on the way to getting to the right one. Having health insurance does not mean that you don’t have to pay a hospital up front; it could boil down to the mood of the administrator on that day.

The reality is, once reassured that healthcare is available here, and there’s plenty of insurance to cover it, most expats don’t give a second thought about medical difficulties until they’re flat on their faces. Read Full Article

SAFETY, SECURITY, HEALTH IN ECUADOR – AN INDISPENSABLE BOOK