Low Cost Emergency Care?

Joe

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I don't have insurance and it feels like I might have a kidney stone stuck in transit. Any recommendations for a place to go to get an xray or ultrasound that won't cost an arm and a leg?

I was talking to this lady at school and she said she just went to the public hospitals and she found English speaking doctors and the cost was cheap.
 
Joe,
As you are in Recoleta, just go to the Clinicas de Hospitals(?) near the subway station Faculdad de Medicina of linea D (Cordoba and Pasteur).
My spelling or the exact name may not be correct, but they will take good care of you!
Best wishes, Steve
 
It's called Hospital de Clinicas and they should take care of you for free.
Just be patient.

Maybe they would give you a "turno" or appointment but if it's an emergency, get through the "EMERGENCIAS" entrance and wait to be called.
 
I second Hospital Rivadavia. I'd become ill in winter in BA in 2007 and had called every private doctor or clinic near my Recoleta apartment. No one would book me an appointment: they were either on holiday or the first available appointment was days away. Therefore, I went to Hospital Rivadavia which was the closest hospital to me. Upon entering it, I became worried because it was so decrepit and scary that I thought I was watching a Tarkowski film. Since I had nowhere else to go, I sat on the floor in a waiting room after I registered myself at reception. To my complete surprise, I was seen within 15 minutes (!) by a great doctor who spoke English and kept fantastic care of me, and treated me for a light case of pneumonia. He didn't hurry his treatment and gave me better and faster emergency care than I receive in the emergency departments of hospitals in Canada. The doctor was very knowledgeable, even knowing the North American brand names of drugs which are different from Argentina's. If I ever get sick again in Argentina, I will go to this hospital again without looking for a private practitioner. I think I brought my passport with me, that's all.
 
Oops. I forgot to mention that Hospital Rivadavia charged me nothing. I was even more thankful that the 3 prescriptions given me I was able to fill at a pharmacy across the street, half a minute away from the hospital. The 'script charges were under $US 5. for all 3 drugs, including an antibiotic.
 
Hospital Rivadavia and Hospital Fernandez are two of the best public hospitals in the city, not fancy, but free and with very good doctors, the best grades from Medicine School do their residencies there ;)
 
I will vouch for Fernandez as well, a friend of mine has a life-threatening accident and she was treated in Fernandez and recovered fully.

In fact, friends of mine here say that in the event of a true trauma, you may be better served in a public hospital than in a private as they see a much greater number of serious cases. And as Nikad mentioned, the best med school grads do their residencies in public hospitals.
 
The private Hospital Alemán, on Pueyrredon at Beruti, is one of the premier medical facilities in South American. Their Policlinico accepts walk-in patients 9 - 5 on business days. Most medical specialties are represented, and the cost was 80 pesos for a consultation when I was last there some months ago. All of the doctors speak some English, and most are quite fluent.

If your condition requires complex tests or treatments, you can discuss costs and options with them during the consultation. If you don't like the price, you can always go to a public hospital and wait. Still this is a good option to start the process.
 
Tried to get a non-emergency appointment at Hospital Fernandez today for an ear infection. From what the receptionist told me, the "turnos" are handed out at 6 in the morning. I got there at 9 and they were all gone. I did not try the emergency care route.
From there I went to Hospital Aleman. The place was nice and spotless. Paid 120 AR and saw a really nice doctor (who was training a resident) within 5 minutes. They took their time and explained everything to me. I'd go back for sure, but hopefully I won't have to.
 
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