How To Make A Doctor's Appointment In Costa Rica

I did it! I guess it is silly to always be amazed when I accomplish things here, but I always am. It is a different country with a language I understand very little of. It has different customs and the medical system is Social. It is the opposite from what I am familiar with. So, today I walked into the Ebias, found the window for Ebias number One which is the area I live in, and made my first doctors appointment.

I thought I could just walk into any doctor's office, hand them my Seguro Social (Caja) card and make an appointment. Wrong. First I had to find out what area I was actually in. I called my neighbor, Manuel, and he told me I was in Ebias number one. From there I found out I had to go to the Seguro Social office, find the number one area, and make an appointment with a doctor. Then there's the problem of trying to ask if there is a doctor that speaks English. The guard at the front door did not speak English, so through my terrible broken Spanish he finally understood I was needing area one to make an appointment. The girl at the window for my area did not speak English, and I could not get internet service on my phone for Google Translate. Somehow, again with my words not sentences in Spanish, she figured out what I wanted and started making the appointment for me. As she was almost finished she called a very pretty and very young girl over. She was asking her something, so I asked the girl if she spoke any English. She said yes, some. I told her what I was trying to accomplish, and she said it had been understood and my appointment would be on Thursday with her. She was the doctor! I would have guessed her at 18 years old. Seriously, the Ticos really age well here.

I am not sick. I need to first see a doctor so I can start getting my medications through the Caja for free. It has not been the smartest thing on my part having not taken care of this 5 months ago when I first got on the country's insurance program. I think I was just exhausted from all the other legal things that have to be accomplished when you first move here. I've spent money I did not need to on meds. I am really excited to start getting them FREE!

If you did not read any of my past blog posts my full coverage medical insurance with free medicines and free doctors appointments is $44.00 a month. That's correct, $44.00 a month! I may not get in to see the doctor as fast as I want, or may not get into a surgery right away if it is not an emergency, but it's free when I do. If there is an emergency, and you cannot wait to make a doctor's appointment, you just go to the emergency room and are taken great care of. I can live with this!

I will let you know how my first appointment goes and the thrill of receiving free prescriptions.

Pura Vida!