Gotta watch out for "dangerous" curbs in Faro. Two weeks ago I fell and I have a little fracture in my ankle (the fibula). So I thought this might be a good time to chat a bit about the healthcare experience here in Portugal.
First of all, healthcare is a human right in Portugal. It's in their constitution. Amazing concept for us Americans, right? Compared to the debacle that healthcare is in the USA that is. There's a public healthcare system in Portugal which is underfunded and shortstaffed. The husband and I have private health insurance and so far all of our experience has been with the private healthcare system. The cost for my health insurance here in Portugal is about 1/4 of what it was in the United States. (I used to pay ~$600 per month in the USA for a high deductible plan--as a self-employed person my health insurance was high. Whereas for my husband it's approx. the same cost because he used to be on Medicare in the USA.)
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Since the ankle was still swollen and painful after a week, I went to our local medical clinic (here in our town) and saw the general doctor working the clinic. She sent me for an x-ray (right in the same clinic). Afterwards she said -- and I quote: there are problems so we need more imaging. I was able to get a CT scan scheduled for 2 days later in Faro (45 minutes away). And then I booked the first available appointment with an orthopedic doctor here in town, which was 3 days after that. The timing for getting things scheduled was pretty fast.
The cost so far has been a fraction of what we would have paid back in the USA. The doctor visit was €11. The x-ray was €16. The CT scan was €27. That seriously blows my mind.
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The orthopedic doctor told me yesterday I have a fractured fibula and I shouldn't be walking directly on the foot. He said I need to wear a "fracture boot" for the next 6 weeks to protect it. This is actually very good news. Once it calms down, I can walk on it with my boot so some normal life can resume (within reason). After 6 weeks I will do some physical therapy to reduce the chance of future problems.
In hindsight, I should have gone to the clinic earlier than a week. I also should have asked more clarifying questions of the first general doc and find out if I should be doing anything differently (because it would have been nice to know about the fracture 6 days earlier). Oh yeah, and the hubs would want me to say that I learned to watch where I put my feet when I'm walking LOL. Overall, I’ve been happy with my first real experience with the healthcare system.
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