Why Did the Knee Need a Vacation? Part 1.

Because it was feeling kneedy!!! Yes, groan.

About three weeks ago, I stepped off a ramp at a local grocery and my left knee gave way. The drop off was hardly more then a few inches but the pain told me I had done something bad to that knee.

I made an appointment at our assigned Ebais and the doctor examined it thoroughly, prescribed one shot of morphine and a round of anti-inflammatory meds. Everything was going well until one week letter I further damaged the knee. I was pulling shut a metal gate and I guess I put too much weight on my left leg. The pain this time was quite bad.

I decided to make an appointment with a MediSmart doctor.  MediSmart is a discount medical plan (not insurance) that we use in conjunction with Costa Rica’s socialized medical system. 

On line, you can search for a doctor whose practice is in the area you are looking for and you can further narrow it down to the town/city/province you want that service to be located in. I found a doctor whose qualifications were (I thought) GP - general practitioner - and made an appointment at Clinica Helenica Grecia. This is where I also see my eye doctor and my dermatologist.

The doctor (actually “doctora” in Spanish) was very nice. She took down my history and I explained my knee problem. Then she said, “Well, Diana, we have a little problem. I am a general surgeon and a proctologist!”. We had a good laugh. It was really funny. So much for my “GP” interpretation. She then made an appointment for the next day with an orthopaedic surgeon so I got moved right up to a specialist. And I wasn’t charged for my visit with her.

The next day, I limped into my appointment with Dr. Baltodano. He was excellent and explained everything so thoroughly. Here is the drawing he did to explain how a knee is structured and what can cause knee problems:

Recommended treatment until I had x-rays and ultrasound completed: RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation. The compression part turned out to be a toe to thigh thick stocking! He also prescribed three courses of anti-inflammatory shots 48 hours apart and five days of pain killers.

Cost of this visit: 55,000 CRC (about $139 U.S.).

Cost of the injections and medications: 35,000 CRC (about $88 U.S.).

It’s important to mention that Dr. Baltodano is bilingual. When one’s Spanish skills are not up to medical terminology, this is very important.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - x-rays and ultrasound!

Click on images to enlarge.

Medical Care in Costa Rica

We recently signed up for MediSmart, a prepaid discount medical plan. At a low yearly cost of $173 USD for the both of us, we have access to quality private health care. Specialists, x-rays, lab work, hospital rooms and operating room times offer us 40% to 80% savings on medical services. There are no exclusions for age or pre-existing conditions.

My ID card - note the mixed up names!

We also belong to Costa Rica’s socialized medical system, known as Caja (which I’ve discussed in earlier posts). We use it regularly. However, there are times when we want to see a specialist without having to wait. Last week, we went to our first appointment with MediSmart. I had made the appointment on line. The web site has an English version so very easy to navigate. I indicated which specialty I wanted and up popped a list of the appropriate doctors with their bios and photos. You can indicate which time of day you want your appointment for, if you want to see a particular doctor and if you want Spanish or English speaking. The next day I received an email with a selected doctor’s name, the date of the appointment and two appointment times I could select from. I just had to select the time I wanted and send back an email.

We took the bus to the Coca Cola bus terminal in San José, planning to take a taxi from there to Hospital Metropolitano, where MediSmart is located. It was pouring rain when we got off the bus and we did not have an umbrella. We were right in front of the Mercado Central, San José’s largest indoor market, established in 1880. We were going to go in and look for umbrellas when, lo and behold, our Water Guy appeared. He’s the fellow that has sodas, water, and snacks for sale at the bus station. He will also make sure you get on the correct bus, load your purchases into the bus cargo bay, and find you a good seat on the bus. He speaks Spanish, English and (I think) French.

We told him we needed an umbrella and he said, “Follow me”. Into the market we went, and he took us to a stall where we purchased an excellent quality paraguas. Then off we went to Hospital Metropolitano. My doctor was on the third floor and I didn’t have to wait long to see him. Total cost for a consultation with a specialist, a bit of minor surgery and lab work was 90,000 colones, about $180 USD. He will also be emailing me the lab work results. If anything further needs to be done, I can take his paperwork to my Caja doctor and have it done through Caja or go back to the MediSmart doctor.

For us, we like having two medical care options. MediSmart is worth looking into.