Free Health Coverage For All In The City Of Buenos Aires

[Rich One]

Maybe...yes and No.. there are 2 types of DNI's, one for citizens and another non citizens , extranjeros if you wish.
Again different from a Turista extranjero..!

 

[jantango]

Thank you! Jantango for commenting. You've saved me from another fruitless endeavor, going to a doctor's office. It was one of your old posts that I thought might make this 'a way'. Okay, dial 147 then and make appointments. And I live for the day 'the system' reaches out to me as you've described. Thanks.
Regards paying for tests, I didn't mean to imply that any payment was required from the Centro de Salud/Coberatura Porteña system.
What I described, not well apparently, was my frustration with the long lines and poor information in order to get a blood analysis and ECG done via Centro Salud/CP, and my seeking an alternative means of getting the tests done through Hospital Aleman, which is outside the CS/CP system - where they charge a fee to do the tests. For 812 pesos for the ECG at Hospital Aleman I was willing to pay it.

Dial 147 and enter your DNI. Select 1 for turnos. If you don't want to use the automated system, wait for a person to answer your call. They have your list of doctors on the screen. Indicate what doctor you want to see. They offer the next date and time available.

When you have the order for a test, present it with your inscription paper to the CoPS plan since you don't have a card. The hospital arranges turnos on one day of the week during certain hours for those with CoPS. Hospital Ramos Mejia schedules turnos only on Thursday from 8:30-10:00am. Your appointment for an eye or ear exam is scheduled and attached to the order you present at the consultorio in the hospital.

When you need a blood and urine test, you go to the window where turnos are given out in the morning at 10:00am. Arrive early and wait. Yes, the line is long. Those people in line don't have the means to pay for the test, so they are grateful they don't have to pay for it at the hospital. It's Medicare for All in Argentina. Blood extractions are done from 6:30-8:30 Mon-Fri after a 12 hour fasting. Results are ready in five days from 9am-1pm. Present the laboratory number you received from the nurse to claim the analysis.

When you need a chest x-ray, go to the department in the hospital where turnos are scheduled. Do the same for a ECG. Get to know the hospital. Walk around and make a note of when turnos are given out for specific tests. If you don't see the information posted, ask someone at the information desk. That's how I know that ECG turnos are schedule from 9-11am in the cardiology section and the location of the room where the test is done.

 

[gracielle]

It's Medicare for All in Argentina.

Describing the public health system in ARG as "Medicare for All" is inaccurate and restrictive. The correct designation is "universal healthcare system". The World Health Organization describes such a system as a situation where citizens can access health services without incurring financial hardship. It is organized around providing a specified package of benefits to all members of a society with the end goal of providing financial risk protection, improved access to health services, and improved health outcomes. Universal healthcare does not imply coverage for all people for everything, only that all people have access to healthcare. In tax-based financing systems, individuals contribute to the provision of health services through various taxes. These are typically pooled across the whole population, unless local governments collect and retain tax revenues.

 

[artisans]

Dial 147 and enter your DNI. Select 1 for turnos. If you don't want to use the automated system, wait for a person to answer your call. They have your list of doctors on the screen. Indicate what doctor you want to see. They offer the next date and time available.
When you have the order for a test, present it with your inscription paper to the CoPS plan since you don't have a card. The hospital arranges turnos on one day of the week during certain hours for those with CoPS. Hospital Ramos Mejia schedules turnos only on Thursday from 8:30-10:00am. Your appointment for an eye or ear exam is scheduled and attached to the order you present at the consultorio in the hospital.
When you need a blood and urine test, you go to the window where turnos are given out in the morning at 10:00am. Arrive early and wait. Yes, the line is long. Those people in line don't have the means to pay for the test, so they are grateful they don't have to pay for it at the hospital. It's Medicare for All in Argentina. Blood extractions are done from 6:30-8:30 Mon-Fri after a 12 hour fasting. Results are ready in five days from 9am-1pm. Present the laboratory number you received from the nurse to claim the analysis.
When you need a chest x-ray, go to the department in the hospital where turnos are scheduled. Do the same for a ECG. Get to know the hospital. Walk around and make a note of when turnos are given out for specific tests. If you don't see the information posted, ask someone at the information desk. That's how I know that ECG turnos are schedule from 9-11am in the cardiology section and the location of the room where the test is done.

Thanks for the walk through of the process Jantango. A couple of questions: How does the automated system handle your 147 call and setting up a turno? When you say 'the live operators have a list of your doctors on the screen' is that a pre-selected list of possible assigned doctors you have access to or is it a list of the doctors you've used in the past?
How does one get an 'inscription paper for CoPS? As I wrote - I could never find a place to register for CoPS. Never got an inscription paper, but someone/something added CoPS to my medical profile. At Hospital Duran I was shown my profile by the Admissions attendant on her computer screen.
What's the practical difference of getting a turno for CoPS versus over the phone after calling 147?
In the case of scheduling a turno and getting a blood/urine test, it sounds like you have to first get a turno on a day between 8:30-10 a.m., then return another day 6:30-8:30 with 12 hr fasting, to get the blood extraction. Is it possible to fast 12 hours, get a turno and then get blood drawn - all in the say morning?

 

[jantango]

I discovered today that turnos for eye exams, etc. at Hospital Ramos Mejia under the CoPS health plan are no longer assigned by personnel where I used to present the doctor's order along with my CoPS card: at a specific window on Thursday morning 8:30-10. There is a new terminal with personnel to assist in getting a turno (a limit of 10) for the same day which may be possible if you are there in line at 6:00am. Otherwise, there is a wait of two weeks. This new procedure in getting appointments at a terminal at Hospital Ramos Mejia changed since I was there on November 12.

The man assisting those in line for turnos told me that I can call 147 for appointments. This is a major improvement in the four years I've been on the CoPS plan. I no longer have to go there on a Thursday morning for scheduling my annual eye or ear exam.,

While writing this post, I decided to call 147 and familiarize myself with the system of obtaining appointments at the hospital by phone.

You get a recorded message when calling 147 that asks you to enter your DNI. Then press 1 for turnos. Next you're given these options: press 1 for Centros de Salud, 2 for Hospitales, or 3 for CoPS. On my first try, I selected (3) which only gives me the option of making an appointment to see the three assigned doctors under the plan (dentist, gynecologist or clinica medica). I started over at the beginning and selected 2 for Hospitales. My call was answered promptly by a very cordial operator who confirmed my name, email and health plan first. I explained I wanted to make an appointment for an eye exam at Hospital Ramos Mejia. It seems there are no appointments until February 2020, yet she was unable to schedule a future one for me today and said I should call again next week when they will have new dates for scheduling turnos. That's a brief description of the system of obtaining appointment by phone.