I had to take 2 kids to the doctor's office today for their physicals so that we can return back to America in July. Here are some cultural differences I noticed:
The office does not have air-conditioning in the waiting room - only in the dr's personal office.
The secretary does not have a computer. She does EVERYTHING by hand.
The doctor spent 1 hour and 10 minutes with us. Now would that EVER happen in America unless you were dying? I think NOT!!! Although it is nice, I get highly impatient and don't like appointments to take very long. I just want to get in and out as quickly as possible. But here...it's ALL about relationships.
The secretary hand prints the receipt instead of having a handy printer that zips them out in a flash. It takes at least 5 minutes for her to do this as they are usually very detailed for their records.
You can ONLY pay by cash. No credit cards, visa cards or checks are accepted. ONLY CASH!
The secretary writes every single appointment in a notebook in pencil. This is so mind boggling to me. With ALL the great technology and computer programs, why are they still doing this?
And the doctor here gives you his e-mail address and personal cell phone number so that you can call or e-mail him with any problems. And yes, I have used them before! :)
And you can get most prescriptions at the pharmacy WITHOUT a prescription.
Overall, many things are backwards, but I feel like the medical care is much better here.
Monday, April 5, 2010
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2 comments:
Other than the hour long visit - that sounds so nice! I would love to have my dr.'s cell number - I'd even settle for the email address :)
Jess, when I was in Italy, I called on a Sunday, fully expecting the number to be diverted to an answering service. My doctor also answered right away. I was so apologetic and then he apologized that he had not cured me yet! Another time in Australia, the computer was down, so the office did not want to take my payment without running it through the computer. I offered to pay cash and they told me to just pay next time. I also think that's a result of no one having to pay in Australia, so they don't have procedures for manual payments. Fully developed countries also provide this level of service. It's awesome.
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