From Fear to Relief: My Experience with Healthcare on the Camino

[MainelyStina]

Greetings from Tardajos!

About 3 days ago I developed symptoms of an internal infection. We had just left Grañon. A couple hours later, a friend and fellow pilgrim, offered the appropriate antibiotics for my condition (girls stick together!) I walked over 70km while trying to fight off the infection. I arrived in Burgos yesterday, a Sunday, only to find pretty much everything closed.

This morning, I arrived at the Centro de Salud at opening. They sent me away, and I was told to go to the private hospital. After a somewhat frustrating check-in process thanks to the jackhammers pounding away outside the open door, and my mediocre Spanish skills, I was sent to the waiting room. I waited probably less than ten minutes until the Dr came out. I went back to the room, he did a quick test, and I had a prescription for stronger antibiotics within 5 minutes. I walked from the hospital to the pharmacy - arriving just moments before they opened. I presented my prescription and within about 90 seconds had it in hand.

I’m just astounded at how unlike the American system this is. I was truly scared of how things might have gone - and instead it was fairly easy and mostly painless. Makes me wish our system back was even remotely as streamlined as this!

Twenty-five years ago while traveling, I had to have emergency surgery in a small island hospital deep in the South Pacific Ocean. I think that experience left me somewhat fearful about what I might encounter today? Past experiences have a way of sneaking up on you when you don’t expect them.

So, I just wanted to post this to encourage other pilgrims to not be afraid, or reluctant, or hesitant to seek the care they need to continue their pilgrimage. I’m, hopefully, on the road to recovery, and will be ship-shape within a few days!

Good health everyone - and Buen Camino!

Stina

PS: I did pay in advance, and I’ll try to bill that back to my travel insurance. But if that doesn’t work, the visit cost half of what I would’ve been charged just as a copay to visit an emergency room at home…

 

[nycwalking]

Greetings from Tardajos!

About 3 days ago I developed symptoms of an internal infection. We had just left Grañon. A couple hours later, a friend and fellow pilgrim, offered the appropriate antibiotics for my condition (girls stick together!) I walked over 70km while trying to fight off the infection. I arrived in Burgos yesterday, a Sunday, only to find pretty much everything closed.

This morning, I arrived at the Centro de Salud at opening. They sent me away, and I was told to go to the private hospital. After a somewhat frustrating check-in process thanks to the jackhammers pounding away outside the open door, and my mediocre Spanish skills, I was sent to the waiting room. I waited probably less than ten minutes until the Dr came out. I went back to the room, he did a quick test, and I had a prescription for stronger antibiotics within 5 minutes. I walked from the hospital to the pharmacy - arriving just moments before they opened. I presented my prescription and within about 90 seconds had it in hand.

I’m just astounded at how unlike the American system this is. I was truly scared of how things might have gone - and instead it was fairly easy and mostly painless. Makes me wish our system back was even remotely as streamlined as this!

Twenty-five years ago while traveling, I had to have emergency surgery in a small island hospital deep in the South Pacific Ocean. I think that experience left me somewhat fearful about what I might encounter today? Past experiences have a way of sneaking up on you when you don’t expect them.

So, I just wanted to post this to encourage other pilgrims to not be afraid, or reluctant, or hesitant to seek the care they need to continue their pilgrimage. I’m, hopefully, on the road to recovery, and will be ship-shape within a few days!

Good health everyone - and Buen Camino!

Stina

PS: I did pay in advance, and I’ll try to bill that back to my travel insurance. But if that doesn’t work, the visit cost half of what I would’ve been charged just as a copay to visit an emergency room at home…

Glad things went smoothly.

Buen camino.

 

[trecile]

I find it easier to go to a private clinic or hospital because they have the ability to take your payment at time of service and give you a bill to submit to your insurance for reimbursement. The public hospitais and clinics don't do this, so you may not know what you owe for months - and the amount can be surprising!

For example, in 2018 I developed what I assumed were shin splints, but when I was in Santiago I decided that I should get checked out, in case I had a stress fracture or something else. The receptionist at my hotel suggested the public hospital. After a rather cursory exam ("Does it hurt when I do this? How about this?" etc.) I was told that there was no serious injury, and to take paracetamol for the pain. A couple of months later I received a bill for €350! And they would only accept a bank transfer which cost me extra money. I did submit to my insurance for reimbursement, and most if it was covered, but of course not the bank transfer fee.

 

[Roland49]

Good to hear that all your bad experience in the past was maybe a little bit corrected by the spanish healthcare-system.

No Problems at all for me on my CF in 2019. Attended the pilgrim's hours in Ponferrada in the local clinic (Hospital de la Reina). They don't want to see my insurance at all, just my credential. Somehow it's free of charge for pilgrims.

And later I attended the Centro do Salud in Triacestela, they processed my EHIC with the help from the clinic in Sarria via phone. The local receptionist and the very young professional in the Centro never processed a foreign EHIC before. All went well.

For the CP in July this year I prepared a medical summary and prescription for flight and in case something happens (had a severe heart-attack in March '22). But lucky me, I walked and nothing happened. Even my big supply in medics was never questioned.

Hope you fully recover soon to enjoy your Camino!

 

[trecile]

Somehow it's free of charge for pilgrims.

Free to the pilgrim, but the Spanish people are paying for it.

And later I attended the Centro do Salud in Triacestela, they processed my EHIC with the help from the clinic in Sarria via phone. The local receptionist and the very young professional in the Centro never processed a foreign EHIC before. All went well.

Definitely a different process for those of us who don't live in countries with reciprocal health care systems.

 

[Roland49]

Free to the pilgrim, but the Spanish people are paying for it.

Like any other european country that is member to the EHIC-Program. Some of the costs are socialized.

Definitely a different process for those of us who don't live in countries with reciprocal health care systems.

As I was self-employed in my early years I was insured via a commercial health plan and had to cover all medical bills and was reimbursed later by my insurance company. Had some advantages but was way to expensive on the long run!

 

[Bradypus]

Definitely a different process for those of us who don't live in countries with reciprocal health care systems.

Health care costs for those from North America can be scary for us Europeans. In the UK travel medical insurance is usually sold according to very broad travel blocks: "Europe", "Worldwide except US, Canada and the Caribbean", and most expensively including US and Canada. Even with a couple of declared pre-existing medical conditions my annual travel policy for Europe costs less than £40. And the couple of occasions when I have needed to consult a doctor - in France and Norway - have resulted in bills too small to even come close to the medical policy excess.

 

[alexwalker]

As a citizen in the EU, I carry a European health card. It is free. It gives me access to public health care free of charge within the EU, all countries. However, in case of the need for a medical flight back home on a private plane with doctors and nurses, I also have a travel insurance for that. It costs me 30 USD/month.

The public health care system in Spain is professional, friendly, very qualified and cheap. But do not go to private clinics unless you have a separate health insurance, even as an EU citizen.

And yes, as others have mentioned, it is quite scary to observe how little some countries care about/support their citizens' health. I guess it's all about the money.

 

[rojasa]

Greetings from Tardajos!

About 3 days ago I developed symptoms of an internal infection. We had just left Grañon. A couple hours later, a friend and fellow pilgrim, offered the appropriate antibiotics for my condition (girls stick together!) I walked over 70km while trying to fight off the infection. I arrived in Burgos yesterday, a Sunday, only to find pretty much everything closed.

This morning, I arrived at the Centro de Salud at opening. They sent me away, and I was told to go to the private hospital. After a somewhat frustrating check-in process thanks to the jackhammers pounding away outside the open door, and my mediocre Spanish skills, I was sent to the waiting room. I waited probably less than ten minutes until the Dr came out. I went back to the room, he did a quick test, and I had a prescription for stronger antibiotics within 5 minutes. I walked from the hospital to the pharmacy - arriving just moments before they opened. I presented my prescription and within about 90 seconds had it in hand.

I’m just astounded at how unlike the American system this is. I was truly scared of how things might have gone - and instead it was fairly easy and mostly painless. Makes me wish our system back was even remotely as streamlined as this!

Twenty-five years ago while traveling, I had to have emergency surgery in a small island hospital deep in the South Pacific Ocean. I think that experience left me somewhat fearful about what I might encounter today? Past experiences have a way of sneaking up on you when you don’t expect them.

So, I just wanted to post this to encourage other pilgrims to not be afraid, or reluctant, or hesitant to seek the care they need to continue their pilgrimage. I’m, hopefully, on the road to recovery, and will be ship-shape within a few days!

Good health everyone - and Buen Camino!

Stina

PS: I did pay in advance, and I’ll try to bill that back to my travel insurance. But if that doesn’t work, the visit cost half of what I would’ve been charged just as a copay to visit an emergency room at home…

I am also very happy to hear you had a positive experience. I had occasion to go to that same private hospital in 2021, and was treated promptly and effectively with great kindness and care. Perhaps you too had Dr. Rojas as the attending physician? We had a good laugh, as we share the same last name (no relation). I did have to pay a nominal out-of-pocket expense, but I was glad to do so. And yes, quite different from the US! My ER nurse daughter will be the first to second your sentiments. Buen camino, and may you walk the rest of your pilgrimage in good health!

 

[Damien Reynolds]

Check this out, it was amazing. https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...ie-a-camino-story-i-lived.73325/#post-1004144

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I developed extreme stomach pain in early June, almost kidney stone level, while out in the sticks. I managed to drag myself into a small village north of Segovia and thinking that it might be colic I found a pharmacy and asked for something for that.

The pharmacist gave me some pills that I took while in the pharmacy but he could see that I was struggling with the pain and so he insisted on walking me around to the Centro do Salud, where he was kind enough to explain part of my predicament.

Using Google Translate I told the receptionist that I had medical insurance and provided my passport and address for id.

I was seen by a doctor within minutes, even though there were quite a few other people waiting in the waiting room. She examined me, diagnosed appendicitis and called an ambulance.

All three ambulances that serviced that remote area were out on urgent calls and they, fortunately, didn't think that it was urgent enough for a helicopter and so they asked me to wait for an hour until one of the ambulances became free. I agreed and they provided me with pain control and I waited on a gurney, observed by one of the nurses in a side clinic.

Before the ambulance could arrive my pain abated and so I asked the nurse to ask the doctor to re-examine me. This she did and changed her diagnosis to colic and cancelled the ambulance.

Before walking out, pain free, I asked the doctor if I needed to pay a deposit or something. She talked to the administrator for some time and then came back and said "No, we will bill your insurance direct".

As I walked out the door I asked the administrator if she wanted the contact details for my insurance company but she waved me out the door as if trying to get rid of me and so I took the hint and left.

Talking to a local that night he suggested that the amount of paperwork that the doctor and administrator would have needed to do to get me into the system and make a claim was so high that once they knew that I wasn't seriously ill they wanted to just get rid of me and forget that I had been there.

I have not had any communication about this incident since then.

It is worth noting for anyone who isn't familiar with the Spanish medical systems that each region in Spain manages the health system within the region separately from each other and so a visitor to Spain may well experience different treatment for the same condition in each different region.

Do not assume that what worked in one region will be the way that it works in a different region.

 

[WGroleau]

I forgot the injury or ailment, but my wife and I were charged nothing for a visit to a clinic in Navarra. After a quick exam, we got a prescription for Tramadol. We did have to pay the pharmacist, of course, but full price in Spain for meds is typically similar to a co-pay in USA.

 

[LTfit]

Some of us living in European countries bitch about high taxes in general and how monthly health care costs are on the rise but I can say from experience that the system works when needed. At least in The Netherlands. Back in 2011 while walking the Vía de la Plata I incurred spontaneous fractures due to undiagnosed osteoporosis. Yes, while walking.

The knee pain on the right that started after day 10 turned out to be a tibial plateau fracture and the hip pain on the left which followed shortly later was a pelvic fracture in three places. Who knows how I made it into the emergency room in Zamora. Long story short, I spent 4 days in the hospital, a Dutch nurse was flown in to meet me with an ambulance to take me to Barajas and onto a stretcher covering 6 airplane seats to Amsterdam. According to the nurse in question, that alone cost between €15,000 and €20,000. I was taken to a hospital in The Hague by ambulance, followed by an operation, a three week stay in the hospital and two months at a rehabilitation center. Total bill? €0. I never saw one bill, my insurance company covered everything, both in Spain and at home. I guess my monthly health insurance premium of less than €150 has been a good investment. I would hate to think what all that would have cost in the U.S.

 

[WGroleau]

Some of us living in European countries bitch about high taxes in general and how monthly health care costs are on the rise but I can say from experience that the system works when needed. At least in The Netherlands.

I had food poisoning 2014 in Amsterdam. Paid nothing then. Bills received later in USA were €718 for ambulance (less than half of a typical USA trip), and €250 for emergency room (USA $1500+ at the non-profit hospital I retired from).

 

[Canche]

Greetings from Tardajos!

About 3 days ago I developed symptoms of an internal infection. We had just left Grañon. A couple hours later, a friend and fellow pilgrim, offered the appropriate antibiotics for my condition (girls stick together!) I walked over 70km while trying to fight off the infection. I arrived in Burgos yesterday, a Sunday, only to find pretty much everything closed.

This morning, I arrived at the Centro de Salud at opening. They sent me away, and I was told to go to the private hospital. After a somewhat frustrating check-in process thanks to the jackhammers pounding away outside the open door, and my mediocre Spanish skills, I was sent to the waiting room. I waited probably less than ten minutes until the Dr came out. I went back to the room, he did a quick test, and I had a prescription for stronger antibiotics within 5 minutes. I walked from the hospital to the pharmacy - arriving just moments before they opened. I presented my prescription and within about 90 seconds had it in hand.

I’m just astounded at how unlike the American system this is. I was truly scared of how things might have gone - and instead it was fairly easy and mostly painless. Makes me wish our system back was even remotely as streamlined as this!

Twenty-five years ago while traveling, I had to have emergency surgery in a small island hospital deep in the South Pacific Ocean. I think that experience left me somewhat fearful about what I might encounter today? Past experiences have a way of sneaking up on you when you don’t expect them.

So, I just wanted to post this to encourage other pilgrims to not be afraid, or reluctant, or hesitant to seek the care they need to continue their pilgrimage. I’m, hopefully, on the road to recovery, and will be ship-shape within a few days!

Good health everyone - and Buen Camino!

Stina

PS: I did pay in advance, and I’ll try to bill that back to my travel insurance. But if that doesn’t work, the visit cost half of what I would’ve been charged just as a copay to visit an emergency room at home…

I had wonderful treatment at the centros de salud and hospitals on the Camino. Excellent care and in some centros free.