Doctor Visits and Culture Differences

Since returning from the States in January I have been to the hospital/doctor's office twice for Javier. There aren't really doctor's offices or clinics here like you would find in the States, and both times I have felt a little weird going to a hospital for something at home I would visit a local doctor about. However, that's how life is here, so I must adjust.

In January we went to the hospital because Javier had been having chest pains for a few months. We were afraid it could be a heart condition, so he promised me when I returned from visiting my family we could go. I was simply baffled by the process, so informal and not very thorough.

First of all, I was allowed in the room with Javier during the entire process. I may be wrong but something inside me was screaming HIPPA violation since there is no marriage commitment between Javier and I. Apparently here that doesn't matter. The doctor didn't even think twice about me following Javier into the room, and he actually included me in the conversation.

Then it got "worse" I guess one could say. In my head I was thinking that if I were a doctor and someone came in with chest pains I would probably do a chest x-ray and other tests to analyze what the problem might be. However, instead the doctor asked a few questions, had Javier sit on the table, and asked him to raise his arms up and turn from side to side. As he was doing so he asked if there was pain, and when Javier responded yes, the doctor said it must be a pulled muscle. He wrote a few pain prescriptions, and he sent us out the door.

Considering Javier hasn't had too much pain since being off the pills and the days of rest the doctor advised, I assume that it was just a pulled muscle. However, there are still random days when he reports that it hurts which makes me wonder if that's really what it is.

This past week, Javier called me and asked me to pick up medicine at the pharmacy for a fever and for a sore throat. (You can buy antibiotics over the counter here.) I arrived home from school to find Javier fast asleep with a cold cloth on his head and red skin. He had come from working overnight to sleep at my apartment while I was at work with the plan to surprise me and be here when I got home. His plan was not to have a 104.3ºF temperature.

After a short discussion he asked me to call a friend that drives taxi to take us to the hospital (I still don't know how to drive our car.)so that he could see a doctor. We went straight to the emergency room, and they put us in a "private room" to wait. (Room as in a little cubicle with a bed and a chair closed off from the main hallway by a curtain. As we waited, Javier had me ask the doctor multiple times when he was coming to the room or to ask what we were waiting on/what were they going to do next. Again, there was not one person that asked who I was and not one person told me I couldn't be in the room with him. The only time I was asked to leave was when the nurse put an IV in his arm, but she didn't say a word to me later when she pulled down his pants to put a shot in his hind end. (Don't worry, I chose to look the other direction.)

After all was said and done and we were told we could leave the doctor handed me the prescription and medical note, and Javier sent me to buy his medicine. I didn't know the hospital had it's own pharmacy, so I wandered out of the hospital to the pharmacy down the street to buy the medicine. I was given everything I needed and sent on my way.

Now, as if the actual procedure was different than I'm used to, there were other differences I noted. Neither the doctor or nurses wore gloves. The bed sheets had a mark of dust or dirt on them despite looking clean. The ER visit took less than 2 hours (the fastest ER visit I've ever experienced). Asking the doctor multiple times how long we'd have to wait or what we were waiting on was completely acceptable. (I did explain to Javier that that behavior would not be allowed in the US.) Most shocking was that the visit cost a little more than 100 soles, which amounts to about $40. Can you imagine an ER visit in the States (without insurance) only costing $40? I think a visit to the local doctor's office costs more than that.

Thankfully, Javier seems to be doing much better. He took a few days off work, and he says he is still feeling weak and tired, but his fever is gone and his cough and congestion seem to be clearing. Let's hope we don't have to make any more doctor's visits for a very long time!