Medical Care

I went to St Luke's Medical Center for a general physical. Apparently, check-ups are not that common here (or called something else) because everyone there was confused that I was at the doctor and nothing was seriously wrong.

Hospitals here are different than what I was used to in San Francisco. When I went to the doctor there, all the doctors were employed by the hospital (i.e., the doctor at Kaiser collects his/her paycheck from Kaiser). Here they are more like a mall in the sense that independent doctors appear to rent space from a hospital but are not necessarily affiliated with the hospital in any other way. There are however heads of departments and such so it must be more complex than I am making it sound but this is as much as I can figure out now.

The doctor had me go for blood tests, urinalysis, and chest x-ray (he is a cardiologist, hence his interest in the chest). Everything was soooo smooth and quick! I have spent longer in line waiting to pay at Kaiser than the whole three tests here. The staff (both administrative and medical) were incredibly nice. They even kept their sweet demeanor when I started to pass out during the blood test and then threw up in their garbage.

Cost is unbelievable. With no insurance here and to receive:
-Consultation
-EKG (I apparently have a premature heartbeat. No big deal, but random none the less)
-Urinalysis
-Blood (blood count and chemical testing)
-Chest X-Ray

I paid a total of PHP5,012 which in US is $111.38 (assuming a P45/$1) for awesome care the entire time. You can't beat that!