Very interesting. Good luck. Language barriers are a real problem. Medical communication is hard enough even when doctor and patient are both native speakers.
Apr 18, 2023·edited Apr 18, 2023Liked by Scott H-K, Amy Redfield
Until you are fluent or at least comfortable in Portuguese, before you go to any appointment make a list of questions and translate them to Portuguese. Have your translator app in hand.
Here's a trick. Regardless of how stupid it feels at first, ask the same question over and over until you feel you have a satisfactory answer.
Some docs will give you personal contact info, others will not. My hematologist gave me the hospital general number while admitting not even she could get anywhere with it. My surgeon gave me both his email address and his cell phone number.
I would recommend that people who can afford private insurance use that instead of the public system which is already severely strained. Private here is pennies on the dollar compared to US health care. I do have a public doctor here who suggested I check in once a year to keep my public file up to date just in case. I have been negligent with that.
Physician response and our perception of the competence of the doc/nurse/care provider changes with the individual. My wife's doc came out to tell me her colonoscopy results. Mine did not. She was clear and mine found a lesion that required surgery.
In the Old Country, I saw the doc, and that was it. Their front desk was a firewall between me and them.
We have private insurance and the vast majority of our interactions with health care here have been through either Cuf or Luz. It does seem to vary by individual how much they inform and allow contact. Thanks for the tips. I find that asking the same question multiple times helps in many scenarios. Just today with MEO, for example. Or at least I try to repeat what I heard to verify that I heard what I thought I heard. Which I don't always. Definitely not a walk in the park.
It seems like no country has an easy healthcare system. The common response in Denmark is “take a panodil (ibuprofen)”. For everything. Got the flu? Panodil. Tipped your 80 lb cargo bike and it landed on you? Panodil. Possible broken bone? Call 211 to make an appt for the emergency room (in theory this is to manage/triage but if you are bleeding, or in agonizing pain, seems counter intuitive).
Colonoscopy here was similar but local anesthesia only (done in 30 minutes and conscious, if goofy, for it). Bone density test? Nope. Annual blood work? Nope. Don’t ask, they will tell you they’re not necessary.
Public health in Portugal is in disarray, mainly due to the ageing population and (also) to the influx of elderly people from abroad that decide to move here. Almost everyone I know made a private insurance; as there’s no option for being treated in public health hospitals, even in emergencies (unlike in italy where still the social system of care works). I’ve never been to the public service here (outside of the covid jab) and even the private hospitals are getting crowded (Luz has a waiting list of six months for simple consultations, due to the fact that many are opting for private care). It’s a situation without an exit unfortunately :(
Yes, we have private insurance and most of our health care interactions have been with Cuf or Luz. We're seeing long wait times to get in with specialists in those two hospital systems as well. It does seem like it's a tough hole to climb out of.
I am wondering if private insurance is less expensive than hiring your medical care facilitator. We have Allianz and go to CUF for our appointments and procedures. English is widely spoken by the medical and support staff. We get annual blood work.
BTW, I just had a colonoscopy and the experience was excellent.
We need to do a better job of making this clear: we have and use private insurance. The service we refer to in the post is cheaper than our premiums (annual cost of service is less than one month of premium). We would prefer not to feel reliant on them and would like a better understanding of how the process works in general.
My colonoscopy was at Cuf and was, medically, a good experience. Amy was unhappy about not having quicker access to me after the procedure.
How the process works can depend on where you are and with whom you are dealing. Also, people are often misled into thinking they understand the situation when in reality they understood what the Portuguese person clearly stated in English. Unfortunately what the Portuguese person stated clearly were the wrong words stated clearly.
Quick example:
After disrobing, I asked the x-ray tech, in English, should I leave my wallet in the changing room. He made a friendly dismissive expression, pointed at my clothes and said: "No. You can take it here."
Communication here is so nuanced. Just because it is clearly stated doesn't mean it is the intention of the speaker.
I wonder how much is nuanced and how much is just plain using the wrong word. I know I do that a lot when I attempt Portuguese. Many people have been told quite clearly by me that our dog (cadela) is actually cinnamon (canela). So yes, I am in total agreement with you: just because it is clearly stated doesn't mean it is the intention of the speaker.
As you know I have written about my experiences with the private system in Portugal. I get all of my chronic prescriptions (with my SNS # printed on it so I get the near zero price) from my private PCP. We have not utilized the concierge services...but we have relied on our insurance agent to explain the ropes, and on occasion, act as our advocate with the insurance company. If you want her number, she is in Cascais, let me know. So far we have not utilized the public system.
It is such a pity that the public service is in such state! As Europeans, we deeply weep for the direction this is taking, with dismantling public service and private services kicking in. I’m with MÉDIS and it works like a breeze, the hospital bills them directly and I’ve got to pay just a small amount for visits and such. I’m still getting used to it, but it’s an ok system I guess. Only downside is that my hospital of choice is getting extra busy :/ and waiting times are growing in the private health too. I think this situation doesn’t have an escape!
The only solution is for people to actually pay for the service they recieve - either through what they are billed (ugh!) or through what they are taxed (ugh!). Since we don't want that, we get what we pay for. That's the way I see it anyway
I wish we had an insurance company! We have mgen, for pre-existing condition reasons. They are proving exceeedingly challenging to work with, just on a claim basis. They certainly would never think of helping us with anything like our health. Gosh, no. I wish we had gotten them with an insurance company, but we just filled it out online. Argh.
I use Medis and it works marvellously. Of course I do not have any need for medications t hough, so the thing could be different but they cover a lot of things and I know that other insurances are more lax on preexisting conditions!
Praying this surgeon and these small procedures prove helpful 🙏
Thank you, Aunt Clare!
Very interesting. Good luck. Language barriers are a real problem. Medical communication is hard enough even when doctor and patient are both native speakers.
Until you are fluent or at least comfortable in Portuguese, before you go to any appointment make a list of questions and translate them to Portuguese. Have your translator app in hand.
Here's a trick. Regardless of how stupid it feels at first, ask the same question over and over until you feel you have a satisfactory answer.
Some docs will give you personal contact info, others will not. My hematologist gave me the hospital general number while admitting not even she could get anywhere with it. My surgeon gave me both his email address and his cell phone number.
I would recommend that people who can afford private insurance use that instead of the public system which is already severely strained. Private here is pennies on the dollar compared to US health care. I do have a public doctor here who suggested I check in once a year to keep my public file up to date just in case. I have been negligent with that.
Physician response and our perception of the competence of the doc/nurse/care provider changes with the individual. My wife's doc came out to tell me her colonoscopy results. Mine did not. She was clear and mine found a lesion that required surgery.
In the Old Country, I saw the doc, and that was it. Their front desk was a firewall between me and them.
Health care here is no walk in the park.
Boa sorte
We have private insurance and the vast majority of our interactions with health care here have been through either Cuf or Luz. It does seem to vary by individual how much they inform and allow contact. Thanks for the tips. I find that asking the same question multiple times helps in many scenarios. Just today with MEO, for example. Or at least I try to repeat what I heard to verify that I heard what I thought I heard. Which I don't always. Definitely not a walk in the park.
Thanks for the comments!
I love going in with a list in both languages. Most docs seems to appreciate it as well.
It seems like no country has an easy healthcare system. The common response in Denmark is “take a panodil (ibuprofen)”. For everything. Got the flu? Panodil. Tipped your 80 lb cargo bike and it landed on you? Panodil. Possible broken bone? Call 211 to make an appt for the emergency room (in theory this is to manage/triage but if you are bleeding, or in agonizing pain, seems counter intuitive).
Colonoscopy here was similar but local anesthesia only (done in 30 minutes and conscious, if goofy, for it). Bone density test? Nope. Annual blood work? Nope. Don’t ask, they will tell you they’re not necessary.
I do wonder who does healthcare “well”.
Wowza. Was thinking it would be great there. Me, I want my general anesthesia for the colonoscopy ;-)
This was helpful, thank you!
Double wow! Wishing you the best!
Public health in Portugal is in disarray, mainly due to the ageing population and (also) to the influx of elderly people from abroad that decide to move here. Almost everyone I know made a private insurance; as there’s no option for being treated in public health hospitals, even in emergencies (unlike in italy where still the social system of care works). I’ve never been to the public service here (outside of the covid jab) and even the private hospitals are getting crowded (Luz has a waiting list of six months for simple consultations, due to the fact that many are opting for private care). It’s a situation without an exit unfortunately :(
I'm used to a long wait - the US has long waits as well. I'm finding the best docs are not in the hospitals.
Yes, we have private insurance and most of our health care interactions have been with Cuf or Luz. We're seeing long wait times to get in with specialists in those two hospital systems as well. It does seem like it's a tough hole to climb out of.
I am wondering if private insurance is less expensive than hiring your medical care facilitator. We have Allianz and go to CUF for our appointments and procedures. English is widely spoken by the medical and support staff. We get annual blood work.
BTW, I just had a colonoscopy and the experience was excellent.
We need to do a better job of making this clear: we have and use private insurance. The service we refer to in the post is cheaper than our premiums (annual cost of service is less than one month of premium). We would prefer not to feel reliant on them and would like a better understanding of how the process works in general.
My colonoscopy was at Cuf and was, medically, a good experience. Amy was unhappy about not having quicker access to me after the procedure.
How the process works can depend on where you are and with whom you are dealing. Also, people are often misled into thinking they understand the situation when in reality they understood what the Portuguese person clearly stated in English. Unfortunately what the Portuguese person stated clearly were the wrong words stated clearly.
Quick example:
After disrobing, I asked the x-ray tech, in English, should I leave my wallet in the changing room. He made a friendly dismissive expression, pointed at my clothes and said: "No. You can take it here."
Communication here is so nuanced. Just because it is clearly stated doesn't mean it is the intention of the speaker.
I wonder how much is nuanced and how much is just plain using the wrong word. I know I do that a lot when I attempt Portuguese. Many people have been told quite clearly by me that our dog (cadela) is actually cinnamon (canela). So yes, I am in total agreement with you: just because it is clearly stated doesn't mean it is the intention of the speaker.
Oh, wow. May this surgeon be the one with the healing hand to help you, Amy!
Thanks, David & Malou!
As you know I have written about my experiences with the private system in Portugal. I get all of my chronic prescriptions (with my SNS # printed on it so I get the near zero price) from my private PCP. We have not utilized the concierge services...but we have relied on our insurance agent to explain the ropes, and on occasion, act as our advocate with the insurance company. If you want her number, she is in Cascais, let me know. So far we have not utilized the public system.
It is such a pity that the public service is in such state! As Europeans, we deeply weep for the direction this is taking, with dismantling public service and private services kicking in. I’m with MÉDIS and it works like a breeze, the hospital bills them directly and I’ve got to pay just a small amount for visits and such. I’m still getting used to it, but it’s an ok system I guess. Only downside is that my hospital of choice is getting extra busy :/ and waiting times are growing in the private health too. I think this situation doesn’t have an escape!
The only solution is for people to actually pay for the service they recieve - either through what they are billed (ugh!) or through what they are taxed (ugh!). Since we don't want that, we get what we pay for. That's the way I see it anyway
Taxes should be better employed for these services: funding public healths, roads, education is the basis of our livelihood as we know it.
I wish we had an insurance company! We have mgen, for pre-existing condition reasons. They are proving exceeedingly challenging to work with, just on a claim basis. They certainly would never think of helping us with anything like our health. Gosh, no. I wish we had gotten them with an insurance company, but we just filled it out online. Argh.
I use Medis and it works marvellously. Of course I do not have any need for medications t hough, so the thing could be different but they cover a lot of things and I know that other insurances are more lax on preexisting conditions!
Could you post the drs name? I too suffer from chronic migraines and am interested
The TMJ dr. name is Professor Douter David Angelo of IPFace in Lisboa.