Adventures in Healthcare

Well, it only took me a week before I ended up in the clinic.

The day after I got here I noticed my ears had been troubling me, which I chalked up to climate adjustments. But awhile back a doc once told me I had a lot of wax in my ears, and while it’d never given me problems before, I though now was a good a time as any to go q-tipping.

This in turn only smushed all the sludge further inward, impacting it all against my eardrum. But I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was that I couldn’t hear any more out of one ear (except for a constant ringing.), and that the other was't totally right either. Plus every time I took a shower it’d now take several hours before they dried out. After putting up with this situation for several days (hoping it’d get better on its own) I finally managed log onto the Mayo website and figure out the scoop. Thursday I then took the afternoon off to go into town and get an over-the-counter remedy, which consisted of some drops and a rubber ball for shooting water into your ear. That just made things about 5 times worse, so I decided to bite the bullet (and the out-of-network medical costs) and see a professional.

Some time on the phone and the internet informed me of Barbados’ general medical situation: The government runs a half dozen “polyclinics” on the island – places where anyone can go for minor medical issues free of charge. Then of course there a handful of private clinics for those with money and/or insurance. Me being a bit gun-shy about tropical medicine in general, decided to splurge on later option.
This is the Sandy Crest medical center, a newer facility built in Holetown (Holetown is the eipcenter of the island’s tourist industry, and about a 15 min busride from me.) They’re open 24 hours and it was very nice inside. There were about 8 locals waiting in line ahead of me, but I got to see a nurse within a half hour and a doctor shortly thereafter. The staff was all Bajan. The Doc took a giant water syringe and a pair of tweezers to me, and after pulling three black-eyed peas out of my head I was fine. (Save for the throbbing of two eardrums, red and irritated at being hit with a medical super-soaker. But was nothing a couple drinks at the oceanside bar across the street couldn’t fix.) Today I’m right as rain, and have cleared myself to go swimming again.

Overall I was highly impressed. I walked in as a foreigner with no local insurance, no appointment, and no verifiable medical history. I only had to fill out one, single-page form; was treated by friendly, competent people; and released in about an hour. And the whole procedure only cost me $122.50 U.S. (Now keep in mind two things: 1) that was the TOTAL cost, not what my insurance doesn’t/wouldn’t cover, and 2) the regular cost of living here is equal to the U.S, perhaps slightly more. For example, a 6 pack of locally made beer costs about $7.50 U.S, while a 20oz Coke bottle is about $1.25.)

So why in hell is the medical system so Byzantine in the U.S.? Bajan’s are nice people, but logistics is certainly not their strong suit. Americans meanwhile, are world leaders in resource allocation and global distributers of goods and services par excellance. If this island of beachcombers and Rastafarians can provide accessable, convienient, affordable care to all of its citizens and we can’t, it's truly blemish on our society.