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Colombian Private Health, A Good Personal Experience in Medellin

Just for a change, I am pleased to write a post that is complementary towards a Colombian system. I thought it pertinent to write this now as there are other active posts regarding this topic, including that of Darloup.
My wife and I had been living full-time in Colombia for about a couple of years and we had never had any major health issues during our lifetimes and we were both about 51 at the time.
Whilst I was working in the UK, I had cause to use the "free" NHS Service a couple of times, once for surgical removal of all wisdom teeth which had impacted and would cause me bothers one day and the other time was when I needed to attend occupational therapy for stress/panic attacks which involved weekly hospital visits for several months. Fortunately at those times, I was living outside of London where the stress on this NHS system was far less and I came to appreciate what a wonderful service was on offer. I also had BUPA private health, paid for by the Company, (£200 per month-which I thought was an extortion) for more drastic things in order to not have to wait in the NHS queue so that I would be fit for work more quickly should the occasion arise.
However, there does come a time when one thinks about one's age and the increased risks of requiring specialist treatment and we made enquiries about private health here. My parents-in-law, along with a lot of other family members, had been members of a Coomeva Gold Scheme for many years and we were recommended to join this family scheme as it would give us a "quantity discount" based on the number of family members already involved. Cost is about 280.000 COP for the pair of us, which I thought was pretty good as we are no saints; we like to drink alcohol (rarely to excess) and we also smoke moderately.
To join the scheme, we needed to undergo medicals (not too strict I may add) involving listening to breathing, electrocardiograph and a complex set of urine and blood analyses. We were considered OK, even though my blood pressure was slightly elevated and Mrs Blanquito had a very slow heartbeat (considered either a problem or the heart of a great athlete, and needed to be retested for this parameter at our expense unfortunately-bit of a scam I thought).
The other factor which had persuaded me to think about private health was when a close friend of ours, who could not afford private health, was diagnosed with cancer of the colon.
I could not believe what I saw in the National Health hospital where he had his surgery; it reminded me of something from England between the wars; ill people in overcrowded wards, enjoying little privacy and the place looked dirty. I felt so sad that day. Just to add to that, the surgeon made a total mess of the operation, took away too much of the colon and our friend needed to use a bag for the rest of his life. It became worse; every time he required another apointment or medication, he or a family member would need to queue up to apply for these things and then the eternal wait (often weeks) for authorisation of funding from the government. In the end, these delays allowed the cancer to come back, proliferate and in the end to kill him. I said to my wife during this time that if I were to ever be very ill, do not take me to one of these places!
OK, time passed and my wife had a severe tummy problem caused by stress and she was referred to Clinicas Las Americas for examinations and treatments; this place apparently is like a headquarters of the best consultants in the area under one roof, with all up to date facilities. She did not need to be hospitalised but received good diagnoses etc.
A couple of weeks ago, the person who never needs a hospital, ie me, developed an uncontrollable nosebleed. It started at home, unprovoked other than the fact that I had blown my nose (gently). It started one night but after applying ice and pressure to my nose, it stopped. I woke up the following morning and it started again immediately, but worse than before. I was beginning to panic now; I had never seen anything like it. Wifey and I were in a cab 5 minutes later to the emergency department of the aforementioned clinic and apart from a slight delay booking in, when I commented "I hope you move more quickly if somebody has had a heart attack" when the response was "it is different in life-threatening situations", things happened very efficiently and I was seen quickly. Various nurses looked after me and the blood-flow very attentively whilst they awaited the arrival of the specialist or private room with bed, whatever came first. Specialist great, nurses great and a decent room for 3 days. Whilst there, nurses were popping in to see me every 2 hours and checking my condition and blood pressure. Super staff! Better than back home too! Post care also excellent and the specialist even phoned my wife in his spare time to see if I was OK after I had arrived home and also insisted that she phoned him if she was worried about my condition. What a decent guy!
For all you foreigners out there, who may be used to first-world hospitals, whatever you do sort out your private health as soon as you can after arrival. You never know! Those other places try hard but they have very limited resources and the conditions are hard for those not used to them. It is a shame that the type of facilities that I enjoyed are not available to everybody.
Horrible though that to enjoy the best health care and education in this country, you need to have money!

By kenblanquito on Jun 30, 2009, 15:44 in Friendly Talkzone.

MitchAlvarez says on Jun 30, 2009, 15:50:

Excellent Post!! Sad but True!

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kenblanquito says on Jun 30, 2009, 16:02:

Also, with decent facilities, the National Health hospitals here could probably do a similar job. I am sure that the majority of the staff are well-qualified and good at their jobs. Perhaps we should take our hats off to them for their loyalties. Similar ethics also occur within the Brit NHS system, where people could earn a lot more by working in private institutions but they choose not to.

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durito2 says on Jun 30, 2009, 17:09:

Funny reading that coming from the USA as it gives you a vast appreciation for the system here.

I saw a doctor in Bogota two weeks ago who provided excellent service and then refused to charge me. After having 100k in medical bills at 22 in the USA, that was perhaps the oddest experience of my life.

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kenblanquito says on Jul 1, 2009, 06:27:

durito2 and mongo
I am pleased that your Colombian health service stories are complementary too, with good outcomes.
Your experiences of health care in the States is extremely disturbing too.
Up until now, the National Health Services provided in the United Kingdom, although overstretched in the major cities, continues to be good and somehow, even though the pay is inferior to the private sector, still manages to attract staff of good quality who out of principle do not consider that it is right to turn health-care into only a business operation. Good morals seem to prevail in this materialistic world that we now live in.
During the eighties, that disillusioned and at times evil prime minister Thatcher was determined to run down the NHS and almost force everybody to take out private schemes. The same philosophy was also being utilized for pensions too. Fortunately for us Brits, her misguided principles did not meet with total success and the systems, although somewhat under-funded, survived.
This business of attempting to make everybody subscribe to these private schemes was in effect an attempt by the government to shed itself of its responsibilities and to create a 2 tier society; the haves and the have nots. Rather like Colombia but the difference was that the welfare system in the UK had taken time to develope properly and was a precious item in our society. After having enjoyed the welfare state system for so long, the country could not have coped with its demise. Also these private health companies are too selective over who can join their schemes. They only wanted people in the best of health with no pre-existing conditions. Result, too many people would have been left in no-mans-land, without cover of any kind for serious on-going health issues.
Even 30 years ago, British people travelling to the States on business or holidays were strongly advised to take out medical insurances for their stay. There were horror stories circulating about those who had become ill there and returned to the UK with enormous debts resulting in people having to sell property assets in order to pay these off. Having to pay for health care seemed inconceivable to us at the time.
On the other hand, whilst in London my wife and I had a visit from a Colombian niece who resides in the US. On the night of her arrival, she was extremely ill and it turned out to be food poisoning acquired from something she ate on the aeroplane.
When we spoke about taking her to the local hospital, she freaked out saying she had no health cover whilst in the UK. We assured her that she was covered, as were all visitors to the UK shores, and that she should not worry. She was taken to a NHS hospital outpatients department, seen after a few hours and discharged with a prescription after an overnight stay. She could not believe that the care obtained, which was not really inferior to private care in the US, was free and the charge for her prescription drugs was about £5 per item. Quite an eye-opener for her, the less materialistic world!
I fear for the generations ahead, in all countries. People becoming dispensible if they do not have significant wealth. By the sounds of it, that is one area which Cuba and Castro can be proud.
I have no pride in admitting that in the UK I possessed a private health scheme "to jump the queue", but I was "forced" into that by my employers and I did not pay for it. The same goes for my life here in Colombia; I sincerely hope that this situation of inequality can be addressed one day and everybody can claim the right for the best in education, health care and other basic needs. This will only be possible when the corruption within the government is sorted out and the on-going troubles are extinguished so that more cash is available for looking after the people rather than the "wastage" for funding the military operations.

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Chriscan (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 1, 2009, 20:20:

I was pretty happy with my week in the hospital and operation. The doctors were great but the nurses were poorly trained. Although my stay was more comfortable in Colombia as I was in a private hospital, I would have felt much better back in Canada as there is way more technology available an more accountability.

The best thing a country can do is have public health care. It's not easy to do in this world of corporate control. The only people who don't like it are the filthy rich and those educated by Fox.

Beam me up Scotty; No intelligent life here.

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bam m says on Jul 1, 2009, 22:07:

Mongo...ru ok?? PM sent..

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