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I have been paying about $19.00 per month into the CCSS medical plan for many years and have never had an experience as of yet. This report from a happy CCSS subscriber was encouraging.
Medical Care At a CCSS Hospital – A Different Kind of Story By Steven Fargo
Have you ever been treated in a CCSS (Caja) hospital? Probably not. But most of you have heard stories about inefficient service, uncaring personnel and long lines.
This story is about my experience at with the CCSS medical system. I am a legal resident of Costa Rica; pay for voluntary Caja medical coverage and I am over 60. For the past few months I have been suffering from severe pain in my left leg below the knee. I was examined at the local CCSS clinic in Santa Ana and was given a reference to Hospital Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes in San José. This hospital is available only to patients over the age of 60.
My first visit to the hospital was on a Tuesday morning about 9:30AM and I expected to spend the entire day waiting in lines and filling out forms. I certainly did not expect to receive any medical help, at least not on that day. I was directed to the area where new patients are registered and, to my surprise, all it took was showing the referral from my local clinic, my cedula and proof that I was current in my voluntary coverage payments. Less than a half-hour later a nurse recorded my weight and blood pressure and I was sitting in a reception area waiting to see an in-take physician.
This was the longest wait of the day, about 45 minutes. The young physician had my records from the local clinic up on his computer screen and spent about 15 minutes asking me questions about family history, medications I take and having me describe the pain in my leg. Then came a brief examination followed by the doctor’s opinion that I should be seen by a Neurologist to determine the source of the pain and the possible treatment options.
I sarcastically asked how many months or years it would take to see a specialist and he grinned and said “Let’s see what we can do.” He wrote a referral to the specialist and sent me to the appointments desk. After checking the computer for available appointments, to my great surprise, the clerk asked me if Thursday at 10AM would be OK. Of course, I asked “Which Thursday or which year?” When she said “This Thursday, two days from now.” I was really surprised.
Total time on Day 1 at Hospital Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes: 2hr 15min
I returned to the hospital on Thursday at 10AM and was directed to the Neurologist’s office. Had to wait about 15 minutes for him to finish with another patient and then I was greeted in pure American English; turns out that the doctor was raised in New England before his family returned to Costa Rica. What a nice surprise! My Spanish is reasonably good but being able to talk to the doctor in English was a real benefit.
After taking an extensive history and conducting a very through exam, the tentative diagnosis was a compressed Sciatic nerve below my left knee. He wrote orders for an x-ray series, an ultrasound exam and specialized physical therapy. I was told to make an appointment to see him again in two weeks.
The same clerk set my x-ray and ultrasound appointments for the following Tuesday morning and said that she was going to have to talk to the Chief of Physical Therapy about getting me into their schedule.
Total time on Day 2 at Hospital Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes: 1hr 30min
Tuesday morning, 7:30AM I reported to the radiology department expecting to be there a good part of the day. To my surprise x-ray was ready for me almost immediately and when they were finished, the ultrasound technician was waiting for me.
Total time on Day 3: 1hr 15 minutes
Friday morning, 10:00AM I met with the Neurologist and was told that I have a badly inflamed tendon caused by my right leg being 5mm (¼”) shorter than my left leg. He wrote a prescription for shoe inserts to correct this problem and arranged for me to start physical therapy the following week. I was told to purchase a tube of an anti-inflammatory ointment (the CCSS does not provide this medicine) and bring it to the physical therapy sessions.
Total time on Day 4 at Hospital Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes: 45 minutes
Wednesday afternoon 12:30PM. I reported to the Physical Therapy department. The Physical Therapy physician established a schedule of three treatments weekly and within 15 minutes the anti-inflammatory ointment was being applied with an ultrasound device. Then hot compresses were put on my leg to further stimulate deep penetration of the medicine.
Total time on Day 5 at Hospital Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes: 1 hour
I have now had three physical therapy sessions and I can feel a substantial reduction of the pain I have been suffering for all these months.
All of the personnel at the Hospital Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes have been incredibly courteous, efficient and sympathetic to the pain. Don’t believe all the horror stories you may have heard about the CCSS (Caja) medical system. You have to have a little patience and the facilities are not as bright and shinny as a private hospital but the medical care is first rate.
We are covered by an INS policy rather than by the CAJA.
On December 21st, I fell off a ladder and injured my knee. We went to the local hospital in Grecia where I was admitted and screened by a doctor from the Emergency Department all within fifteen minutes. He referred me for two x-rays and a consultation with the orthopedist (who was tied up in traffic).
When I finally saw the orthopedist, he diagnosed a torn ligament and prescribed an ankle-to-mid-thing cast which was applied immediately.
The whole experience took less than two hours. Because we’re not enrolled in the CAJA, we had to pay cash and must ask for reimbursement from INS. The total bill: c70,000 — less than $140.00US.
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