09.03.07
Dermatite Psoriasiforme
So how about that title, huh?
My son and I got to experience the Italian health care system today. A rash has slowly been spreading all over, and we decided the calamine lotion wasn’t cutting it.
Heidi calls the doctor, who has appointments from 9 AM - 11 AM every day. After 11, he will see “urgent” cases on a first come-first served basis. He advised us to come in at 11.
I was really surprised when we arrived. There was a small waiting room with toys and chairs for the parents to sit in. And there was a door that said “Do not enter until the doctor calls you.” People would disappear into the room, and then they would come out. Sometimes kids would cry, sometimes they didn’t. It was all very efficient. There wasn’t any staff. The doctor calls the patients in, examines them, bills them, and sends them on their way. And I was in and out of there in about an hour and a half - and I didn’t have an appointment.
However … since we haven’t yet taken the plunge and bought into the Italian health care system, the bill came to €90 ($123.30), plus €30,45 ($41.72 for medicine). Had I been in the system, it would have been almost free.