?How to find good doctors in Mexico?

[Lakewood90712]

If someone wanted to go without health insurance, and go to TJ  and pay cash for medical services and  Rx,

How do you find good doctors? 

Does Mexico have a
Phys. and/or Hospital license system ? and if so, Is it any indication of quality ?

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

In places like Mazatlan, PV, Guadalajara, etc--places where gringos congregate--find the established resident gringo community (the tourists won't know) and ask around. Believe me, this is a matter of considerable interest to expats, among whom you may find retired doctors and dentists and others from the health care industry. Guadalajara and Mexico City are said to have excellent hospitals with inexpensive treatments, even after they have raised the rates for gringos.

There are bulletin boards for Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, Morellia, Tepic, and many other places. Try Mexico Connect, too. Go back through the archives for each board and look for questions similar to yours. This is also a popular topic on boards for Panama and Costa Rica.

This is something that you want to do your homework on BEFORE you need the services. I don't think I would just wander over the border to Tijuana looking for a doctor when I need one all of a sudden.

There is a cross-border health industry down by Yuma, AZ. Scott Burns wrote about it a couple of years ago. The locals in Yuma seem to know that center very well. People like RV'ers come from all over the country to go there for health care.

Lonely Planet published a pocket book, "Healthy Travel--Central and South America" (included Mexico, as I remember). It was intended for travellers, but there was a section on books about health care south of the border.

Then there is always Thailand, where they are establishing health care as a tourist destination. Billy and Akaisha have links to one center on their web site.

This is something I am seriously interested in myself.

Ed

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

The closest I came to understanding the system in Mexico is when I worked at the U. of Az. in Tucson. Lots of expats shipped in for care, so this is pure anecdote.

I don't think it's productive to talk about good doctors vs. bad doctors. It's more the system (the Mexican doctors are surely doing the best they can under the system they work in).

My conclusion is that the care rendered is highly variable. In a serious illness, you need to have a good doctor working in a well-supplied and equipped hospital, with modern medications and tools. Given that I only saw the worst outcomes, from speaking with patients and families I would head to the states for anything nontrivial.

Some facilities that cater to Americans may be more show than substance. I feel confident you can get excellent care in Mexico, but everything has to come together just right; when you are sick it is not easy to orchestrate that.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Remeber, you are at a serious disadvantage if you are not fluent in Spanish.

 

[modhatter]

I have heard many stories about doctors and hospitols in Mexico, and most if it is possitive. When you locate there you will meet other gingoes who can also make recommendations. There is also a book that I purchased last year that breaks Mexico down and rates all of their hospitols and some of the doctors, but for the life of me I can't remember the name. I will have to look for the book.

But you will pick up a lot of information on the various message boards. Dentists are a very popular subject to. In fact there is a new post today in Mexico Connect about dentists, but this is pertaining to the Chapala area. There really isn't a very good forumn for Northern Baja. You can go to Bajasundog.com and check them out. The Nomad Fourmn and Traavlers Forumn cover this area, but don't seem to deal a lot with living there.

 

[Billy]

Our experience of finding decent doctors in Mexico was mostly one of two ways:
1) word of mouth
2) luck

Even with word of mouth, getting excellent medical care can be a bit of a risk. Depending on what you need (operation? routine care? annuals? bloodwork?) you may need to get to a larger city, like Guadalajara. 

When we lived in Chapala, sometimes these docs would have one day a week at the Ajijic Clinic. One particular doctor who worked there and who was respected, routinely recommended women to have operations and she would 'take their female organs' - either top or bottom (     ) I had an appt there and ... well... I went to Guad.

I'd ask the locals where they would go, who they would recommend... then
I would take a bus to Guad, then a taxi to the doc's office.

What we did was 1st - go to the pharmacist. 2nd go to our doctor in the Mascaras Clinic ( I loved him, got good care ) or 3rd go to Guad.

Do as much 'research' as possible, and keep an open eye.

Best,
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement