The standards of medicine and health care services in Buenos Aires are generally very high in the private sector, doctors are well-trained, although I must add that I have been unhappy with some of the more established and so-called experienced doctors whose medicine most definitely required up-dating.
The public sector tends to have much younger doctors working without good supervision and consultant intervention, who may be considered ‘students’ in our cultures and the hospitals are poorly resourced.
Out-patient care generally requires payment at source, whether you have travel insurance or not. Do not come to Buenos Aires without travel insurance – you will have to pay and although medical care is cheaper than at home, you never know what may go wrong and a long hospital stay will still prove very expensive.
There are private ambulances (this should be your first choice) and your travel insurance company or their assistance provider will give you more information. In an emergency, you must dial 107 (public care) to get an ambulance and therefore, you should at least be able to describe where you are staying.
I have read in numerous guides that you must request rapid air medical evacuation to ‘first-world’ medicine, until you are ready and fit enough to travel, this might prove disastrous – always take professional advice.
Contact your travel assistance company and ensure that their medical director has direct contact with your doctor in Buenos Aires. It should be a joint decision based on a risk and benefits analysis.
We tend to guide our clients to more established health care and services in Buenos Aires who are well-resourced with up-to-date technology and first-world resources. The hospital and doctors we recommend are listed below and many of them offer general medical for day-to-day health concerns and good referral systems for more specialised care should it prove necessary.
One point I should make, many people who have given birth here complain about the care they received, if you are late into your pregnancy or have complications, I would think twice about a trip to South America.
You cannot get anything from a pharmacy apart from very basic over-the-counter drugs without a prescription, which means a trip to the doctor. You should know both the branded names of your medications and the scientific name in Spanish before you arrive – write it down – both the doctor and pharmacy will need to know what you need to properly advise you. It is very difficult to get controlled drugs without being an in-patient or under specialist care in the private sector, and so if you have particular needs for drugs make sure that you have properly researched and understand your needs and where to find health care services in Buenos Aires before you arrive.
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Medical Care in Buenos Aires
Health Insurance
Health Buenos Aires
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