| | |  Health & Beauty | April 2009 
Puerto Vallarta Hospital Basics - Part 2
 Pamela Thompson - PVNN
| | For more information, please contact Pamela Thompson at (322) 222-9638, 044-322-107-7007, Nextel 145-6912 or send an email to pamela(at)healthcareresourcespv.com. (PromoVision) | |
This week we continue as to what happens when you are a patient in a hospital here in Puerto Vallarta. Last week we covered hospital basics, such as the admission process and getting settled in to your hospital room. This week, we'll cover what you can expect as a patient in a Puerto Vallarta hospital, including diagnostic studies, treatments and the discharge process.
Obviously, diagnostic studies and treatments will vary with each patient. Nursing shifts change at 7 am, 3 pm and 11 pm so expect the nurse to come in to your room and take your vitals near those times (yes, even to wake you up to do it!)
As I stated last week, most nurses in the area do not speak English so it is very helpful if you have a small Spanish-English dictionary should you get stuck in trying to explain something. Learn some basic words such as "pain," "thirsty," "medication" and the like. (I have put together a three-page list of commonly used words in the hospital setting and would be happy to send it to you - just send me an email.)
You will be poked and prodded, scanned and pressed for various diagnostic studies. Ask your physician exactly what types of studies they are doing and tell him/her that you would like to go over the results! As well, here, any diagnostic studies (X-rays, MRIs, CAT scans) should be given to you to take home with you, so be sure you have all of those with you when it is time to be discharged.
If a day or so has passed and you are still an inpatient, I highly recommend that you call the reception desk ("0" on the patient phones) and ask to see a print out of your bill to date. That way you will be able to have an idea of what type of payment you will need to come up with when it is time to go home. If you should need to transfer monies or increase your credit card balance, it is much better to do that before you are at the Front Desk Reception area ready to go out the door.
When the day arrives that you are going to be sprung, it is very important that you do the following:
• Ask your physician for a copy of his bill (there are two parts to the bill, the physician fees and the hospital fees) and a final report (even in Spanish.)
• Make sure that you completely understand your discharge instructions, including medications, how many and when to take them.
• Find out when your follow-up doctor's appointment is scheduled.
• Ask for a printed and itemized statement. It will, of course, be in Spanish, but go over it the best that you can to make sure it looks accurate.
• Do not leave the hospital without a receipt showing that you have paid your bill in full!
We are lucky to have excellent health care here in Puerto Vallarta with very professional physicians. It is of vital importance that you are pro-active in your health care, so Speak Up and Ask Questions!
If you are feeling confused due to a language barrier, then ask for assistance. You may contact your consulate, a friend, or one of us here at HealthCare Resources to assist in interpretation.
Hopefully you will not need to use all of this information. But if you do, it is so much better to go into the experience with an idea of what it will be like.
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 Pamela Thompson is a registered nurse who has lived in Puerto Vallarta for over 17 years, 10 of them in health care. Pamela now leads HealthCare Resources Puerto Vallarta, a local healthcare resource network. Her years of experience and expertise are available to you by emailing your questions to pamela(at)healthcareresourcespv.com or by visiting HealthCareResourcesPV.com.
Click HERE to learn more about the health and well-being services offered by HealthCare Resources Puerto Vallarta. |
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