Some people think Panama is a place to hide from their past, to create a new identity and continue their criminal ways.
Let this be a warning to all, there have been two arrests in Boquete in the last 2 months. Both convicted in the US and then fled. The long arm of the law knows no boundaries.
Here is a link to the latest person of interest that was extradited back to the US.
http://www.amw.com/captures/brief.cfm?id=39704
Monday, August 30, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Recent Health Care Experiences, reposted with permission
This was posted by Lee Zeltzer, blogger and owner of Boqueteguide.com. It tells a great story from someone who lives and breathes Boquete. The story of being able to receive compassionate, quality health care and have it affordable at the same time, reverberates through the inane discourse in the US that was the health care debate. Read on and enjoy!
Recent Health Care Experiences
Posted by Lee on August 9, 2010
Those who have known me in Panama also probably remember I have had more experience than most people with health care in Panama.
I have had flocks of guests in the past couple of months. In that time two arrived with health issues and required medical attention. I want to share the experiences they had while withholding their names.
One arrived with a problem with his pelvis, a chronic problem of the femur popping out of the socket during exercise. Mayra’s daughter, a doctor, referred him to Dr. Evcilio Barria at Hospital Chiriqui. First bit of amazing, we had the appointment the day after we called. The doctor listened and requested an X-ray at hospital Chiriqui. We walked across the street, and in less then 30 minutes at a cost of $38 we had a pelvic X-ray and we were back in for second consultation. Based on the X-Ray the doctor scheduled a pelvic MRI. The professional fee for the visit was $20. I am not sure what a specialist in orthopedics would charge for an office visit in the US, but I think the $20 might be a copay for good insurance and I suspect we will would still be waiting for the appointment.
I was curious about the cost of the MRI, I suspected the procedure could be expensive. I did some digging on a site called New Choice Health which has prices from around the US. First I looked up the $38 pelvic xray. On this site the range for this in the US was from $210 to $1,600.
On Thursday we went to Hospital Chiriqui for a Pelvic MRI, both with and without contrast dye. The cost was several hours and $600. I used the same site for the US prices in Miami, FL the range was $2,325 to $7000.
Even more interesting was at about 8:30 in the evening, as I was sitting in the waiting room, the doctor came in and sat with me to just chat. He asked about me, asked about his patient, and then went back to see the results with my guest.
My other guest arrived tired, dehydrated and with red urine. Next day I called for a Urologist, Dr. Khayam Arias at Hospital Chiriqui was recommended, and we were in his office the same day. He wanted a urine sample and had it tested, $3. His diagnosis cost $30 in professional fees and resolved with $41 in antibiotics and the passing of some small kidney gravel.
My reason for airing medical history should be clear by now. I am not sure how this would have played out in Canada or Europe or anyplace else, except here and in the US. In the US we would still be waiting for appointments for specialists, then we would be waiting for test results, all the while paying far more in medical and lab fees.
If you can afford private health care in Panama, it is first class at coach prices
Recent Health Care Experiences
Posted by Lee on August 9, 2010
Those who have known me in Panama also probably remember I have had more experience than most people with health care in Panama.
I have had flocks of guests in the past couple of months. In that time two arrived with health issues and required medical attention. I want to share the experiences they had while withholding their names.
One arrived with a problem with his pelvis, a chronic problem of the femur popping out of the socket during exercise. Mayra’s daughter, a doctor, referred him to Dr. Evcilio Barria at Hospital Chiriqui. First bit of amazing, we had the appointment the day after we called. The doctor listened and requested an X-ray at hospital Chiriqui. We walked across the street, and in less then 30 minutes at a cost of $38 we had a pelvic X-ray and we were back in for second consultation. Based on the X-Ray the doctor scheduled a pelvic MRI. The professional fee for the visit was $20. I am not sure what a specialist in orthopedics would charge for an office visit in the US, but I think the $20 might be a copay for good insurance and I suspect we will would still be waiting for the appointment.
I was curious about the cost of the MRI, I suspected the procedure could be expensive. I did some digging on a site called New Choice Health which has prices from around the US. First I looked up the $38 pelvic xray. On this site the range for this in the US was from $210 to $1,600.
On Thursday we went to Hospital Chiriqui for a Pelvic MRI, both with and without contrast dye. The cost was several hours and $600. I used the same site for the US prices in Miami, FL the range was $2,325 to $7000.
Even more interesting was at about 8:30 in the evening, as I was sitting in the waiting room, the doctor came in and sat with me to just chat. He asked about me, asked about his patient, and then went back to see the results with my guest.
My other guest arrived tired, dehydrated and with red urine. Next day I called for a Urologist, Dr. Khayam Arias at Hospital Chiriqui was recommended, and we were in his office the same day. He wanted a urine sample and had it tested, $3. His diagnosis cost $30 in professional fees and resolved with $41 in antibiotics and the passing of some small kidney gravel.
My reason for airing medical history should be clear by now. I am not sure how this would have played out in Canada or Europe or anyplace else, except here and in the US. In the US we would still be waiting for appointments for specialists, then we would be waiting for test results, all the while paying far more in medical and lab fees.
If you can afford private health care in Panama, it is first class at coach prices
Monday, August 9, 2010
We are very worried about our freinds sailing through the French Pacific
Ron and Kathy are two of the nicest people you will encounter in life. This is the last update from their blog. We hope everyone is OK, our thoughts and prayers are with them and hope it is only a comms problem!
Their Blog starts;
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
Atuona, Isle Hiva Oa, Polynesie Française, Friday, 04 June 2010
Even cruising life can encompass both good new and bad news. The bad news has been the TIAs while at sea some 400 Nm and quite a few days still from land, the emergency air trip after arrival here after 37 days at sea to the big hospital in Papeete on Tahiti, and the ten-day stay there, part of it flat on my back. All of that could have been a catastrophe.
The good news, however, is that we made it without me experiencing a major brain-stroke at sea, that TIAs are well-known to neurologists, that the situation was dealt with in time, that the French and Tahitian medical staff were knowledgeable and competent and that I am back on the boat with Kathleen and well on the way to recovery. For a week after returning here I was still getting ‘spells’ (sudden double-vision, paralysis in legs, arms and my tongue; tingling in left extremities; and loss of my sense of balance; etc.), but provided the dosage of the anti-coagulants is correct (they are still trying by trial and error to find what the right amount should be), I am all-in-all getting along quite well, thank you. I am still not able to undertake long cruises, heavy lifting or other physical work. The French doctor told me to avoid banging my head hard or climbing trees. Sic! I am sticking to this, but I do manage to do a little boat work in the mornings and take it easy in the afternoon. My road to recovery is at least due as much to Kathleen’s ministrations. In time I shall be eating a well-buffered daily time-release aspirin and leading a quite normal life, say the neurologists
This can be one of the issues that can arise when traveling or living abroad. Best wishes to Ron and Kathy!
Their Blog starts;
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
Atuona, Isle Hiva Oa, Polynesie Française, Friday, 04 June 2010
Even cruising life can encompass both good new and bad news. The bad news has been the TIAs while at sea some 400 Nm and quite a few days still from land, the emergency air trip after arrival here after 37 days at sea to the big hospital in Papeete on Tahiti, and the ten-day stay there, part of it flat on my back. All of that could have been a catastrophe.
The good news, however, is that we made it without me experiencing a major brain-stroke at sea, that TIAs are well-known to neurologists, that the situation was dealt with in time, that the French and Tahitian medical staff were knowledgeable and competent and that I am back on the boat with Kathleen and well on the way to recovery. For a week after returning here I was still getting ‘spells’ (sudden double-vision, paralysis in legs, arms and my tongue; tingling in left extremities; and loss of my sense of balance; etc.), but provided the dosage of the anti-coagulants is correct (they are still trying by trial and error to find what the right amount should be), I am all-in-all getting along quite well, thank you. I am still not able to undertake long cruises, heavy lifting or other physical work. The French doctor told me to avoid banging my head hard or climbing trees. Sic! I am sticking to this, but I do manage to do a little boat work in the mornings and take it easy in the afternoon. My road to recovery is at least due as much to Kathleen’s ministrations. In time I shall be eating a well-buffered daily time-release aspirin and leading a quite normal life, say the neurologists
This can be one of the issues that can arise when traveling or living abroad. Best wishes to Ron and Kathy!
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