Living in Peru : your everyday companion

I kept silent when I heard all this. I knew things were not that great in California, and I was willing to keep an open mind about what would happen in Peru. After more than three years in Peru, this is my experience.

Starting off, my personal physician is the best I’ve ever had anywhere. Why do I say this? First, he really listens to his patients. He takes the time to do so—each appointment lasts 30-60 minutes and during that time he is continually asking questions and taking notes. There are no interruptions from phone calls or secretaries popping in. It is all his undivided attention. Also if you ask a question, he will take all the time necessary to answer it.  You can also be sure that the next time you come in he will follow up with every point raised before.

Second, he is extremely knowledgeable himself, but since he is a general practitioner, he will refer you when you need more specialized treatment. All of the referrals I’ve had from him have also been excellent.

Third, he is very concerned about the relation of the spirit of the individual to health so you might even get a free book on Buddhism while you are in his office.

In sum, he demonstrably cares about you as a person and works to solve any problems you may have, but also strives to make you aware of how you can live a healthier life and avoid problems in the future.

There is not a lot of fancy equipment in his office. It is minimally furnished. Nevertheless, he has access by referral to all the medical equipment that is needed. This is the point. When you get down to it, much of the quality of health care depends on a doctor who listens, who has a solid knowledge of medicine and  access to the best specialists and finally who has the ability to make a diagnosis that will address the problem.

While he doesn’t make house calls, we also belong to an organization that does. For a relatively small annual fee, this agency responds to emergencies, including accidents and illness, with a physician and several assistants in an ambulance. The response time is rapid and the service is effective.

I know that I am privileged and that there are many in Peru who still do not get adequate health care. My point, rather, is to answer the people who warned us against going to Peru for reasons of health. The Peruvian health care personnel I have met are very competent, well educated and, most importantly, very caring and concerned about the welfare of their patients.

Referring back to the warnings we received in California, I don’t think we can hold to these old stereotypes anymore because they just don’t stand up. Here’s to your good health!

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can you provide me the name of this doctor

I agree with you and I am glad you wrote this article. I live in Miami and I am tired of how doctors treat you here. The most they spent with you if 10-15 minutes beacuse they have 20-30 people waiting outside. Healthcare is way to overpriced even if you have insurance. I personally know of someone that was daignosed with Alzeimers in the US went to Peru and what she really had was Sleep Apnea .

I personally don't go to the fancy clinics for the healthcare needs of my family. I go to places such as "Hospital de la Solidaridad" or the National "Emergencia" or Children's Medical Post for my kids.

The facilities may not be first class, but the quality of the attention is much better than the U.S.A. and I'm attended to in less time. I like the fact that I don't have to wait 2 hours in the doctor's office and it only costs me S/.6-S/.7 for the consultation.

Another thing that I like about healthcare in Peru is that the doctors can also recommend natural or alternative treatments instead of loading you up on prescription drugs.

The Peruvian doctors tend to be more accurate in their diagnosis AND if you do have to fill a prescription it doesn't cost you hundreds of dollars.

U.S.A. may have 1st world health care in the respect to the medical technology that they have, but Peru outshines the U.S.A. by the mere fact that people have more access to healthcare and they don't fear losing their homes or having their credit ruined over outrageous medical debts.

For a 1st world country, the USA has a lot of sick people who can't afford or even access healthcare. I don't think that satisfies as 1st world healthcare in my opinion.

I am wondering if this is just true for Lima. My family is in Iquitos (I am working in California) and I am desperately trying to get a good health plan for them. Any information on national plans would be a big help.  Thank you. 

Alan

Hi Alan:

I think it is a national level because I was in Trujillo for several months almost a total of a year and been traveling to Peru since 2001. I until this  date wait to do all my dental work in Peru upon visiting as well as have a allergie specialist that has been able to help me more than any doctor here in the U.S which is a large part that I can coming from the US go to a specialist in Peru because it is still cheaper than the states and sometimes lack of modern equipment and facny offices is better because as noted the doctor listens to you the patient more.

SMM

 I was living Florida in diferent citys Miami.Orlando ,Tampa ,Saint Peterburg,West Palm beach,etc,etc for 10 years and working dierent specialitis ,I am from Peru Lima but medical technology in USA you kow is very good and very expensive too,in my country you can see medical center good doctors $50.oo  30 - 60 minutes personal atention,odontology healthcare,never thousands dollars,well when I need to see a doctor am goig back to my country, can see my family,take my fly back to my work for no more 2 thousand dollars. Thank you.....Roberto.

I care and hear much from my jungle friend near Iquitos...Ive gone there 2 x (3 months) in last year.  My friend says if no $ ill ppeople ( snake bite victims) will not even be seen.  People are refused from ER visits....as an RN in the US it amazes me...but I have much to learn.  I have just told friends here I may die in jungle...but to have lived fully is to have truely lived...Ha!
Does anyone have experiences in rural areas of Peru?  This is what I will be dealing with. Jungle plant medicine is very powerful already it cured me of 3 illnesses. Anna

I totally agree that Peru has a better health system than the US; by far! As most peruvians living in the US, I also have all my doctors in Peru as well as my dentist. It is really sad that people in the States can not have a good medical system. My son was born with a genetic disorder, he is an American citizen, was born in California, but because he is now 18 years, he is out of the Healthy Kids program that had allowed me to pay an insurance for him. Now, he is without insurance and still needs a couple of surgeries. Thank God he is also Italian so I will look there. Europeans have the best health system. Unfortunately,US is so far down on the list of countries with a good health system; as my husband (British)said: US is for the young, healthy and very well eduacted. The others are doomed.
Martha Hocking

I would love the name of this doctor too!!!  Thank you.

Peru has a very old tradition of excelent medical education. The medical school in Lima was founded in the early XVIII century, and is one of the oldest in the continent. It has maintained through time a very high quality medical education. Peruvian medicine is recognized everywhere. Peruvian medical investigations since the XIX century have contributed to world knowledge of several diseases. The discovery of helicobater pilori as cause of gastritis was done by a peruvian doctor, Raul Leon Barua, more than 20 years ago, but they gave the Nobel price to australian doctors 3 years ago who could afford a much fancier investigation on the matter. My grandfather's brother was a doctor and health researcher in the early years of 1900 and I have documents of his participation in medical congresses in Europe with important contributions. In all the finest hospitals in US you can find recognized peruvian doctors in all branches of medicine

As a response to Martha Hocking,

If the US health care system is so bad why do Peruvians need to go to the US to get special surgeries?  The US health care system is expensive but it is the best in the world.  I live in the Puno province and I assure you the health care system is horrible.  I would be scared to send my dog (if I had one) to a doctor here. 

People equate free health care or universal care with good care and that is not always the case. 

as a response to ¿?

I was once in Chicago and I had a very painful ear infection and they sent me to Cook County Hospital. You can't imagine what that was.  At least 200 people seated in a room waiting for 6 or 7 hours to be received by a doctor for 2 minutes and get a simple pain killer as medicine. You can compare that to Puno if you like.

Hi ! Can I have your doctor's name ? I'm gonna move to Lima in the end of July and I have 2 children. Thanks a lot for this important article.
Paola.

I am peruvian and living in the USA for about 17 years, hopefully I was very healthy but when I went to the american doctor, he was guessing the diagnostic, refering me to several others.
I had a back lower pain and I went to X rays, MRI, Physical Therapy, Neurologist and te diagnostic was: "You do not have nothing" although I was in severe pain for two days that I could move only my eyes been in the bed. Of course each of the specialist gave medicines "just in case" (pain killers) So, I was thinking that I was with mental helth problems, because...with this pain and "I do not have nothing?"
I decide to go to accupuncture by my self (no covered for my insurance) and after two sesions I was incredible better with no meds.
Anothe experience: I lost one of my fillings in my tooth: The dentist took an X ray and I needed "root canal, post and core and a crown" I refuse going over all this procedure and prices, because I only need a re-filling. The explanation of all this procedures was: You will avoid future problems and pain. (for me: "just in case") I told this dentist: It is like if my finger is itching, I cut my hand and won't have problems any more" The filling solve my problem since that day...unveliable!!! (four years ago)
Not all cases and not all the professionals are like this, the problem is that I did'n find the right one so far.
For me: The doctors take care of them selves instead of the patients. A lot of referrals to share responsabilities and avoid been sued. A lot of medicines so, if one doesn't work the other will. And finally and unfortunatelly, many doctors and dentists went to the schools for status (money) not for vocation (service).
This is my point of view, sorry, but...

"says":  the health care may be terrible in Puno......but the music is great! .  I don't mean to be flippy or frivolous.  Everybody:  google "youtube.com" and then write: Ajena (merengue) Banda Super Impacto de Puno.
and have fun with this.  You will see the most incongruous video....a huge band of Punenhos playing a merengue "Ajena". Great musicians, great tune! The video part is bad....but be patient and watch the whole thing, it will amaze you that these guys are some times standing on a "caballito de totora" on Lake Titicaca while playing....or standing on what appears to be the island of the Uros.  I've bookmarked this video of the Banda Super Impacto because it makes me feel invigorated.....it's my fix for the day!  Maybe I'll stay healthy.... just by watching these guys play a "merengue" (totally out of their league) with such gusto!  Notice that they're all wearing white suits up in the Altiplano........I find the whole thing amusing.  What spirit! and to think they're probably paid peanuts as musicians....but it looks like they love what they do.  Turn up the volume and....enjoy!

It is highly unfair to use Puno, maybe the poorest province in Peru, as a measure. How many in the US hace access to that "best of the world" health technology? Have you ever been to a health center just north of Manhattan? 

I've had very different experiences with doctors here in Peru over the last 3 years.  They have come in both Lima and Arequipa.  There are the occasional exceptional doctor or other professional that don't fit this, but they are rare.

I've had doctors constantly interrupt our appointments with phone calls, people coming in to ask him things, and even their daughters coming into the office and talking about all kinds of things in the middle of our appointment.

I've also had experiences with family members being diagnosed with various things and given perscriptions that do not fix the problem.  Then later saw a doctor in the US who easilly diagnosed the problem correctly and gave the proper prescription (in the most recent case, magnesium instead of a strong drug that can damage your liver).  The family member who saw this US doctor no longer has migranes now because of this US doctor, after seeing various Peruvian doctors for over 20 years.

I've had to go to the hospital more than once along with other people.  In one case it was a close friend of the family who was doing some work on our house and injured himself.  He was bleeding badly and needed to be taken to the emergency room of the closest hospital.  He had to sit there bleeding for about an hour (also not uncommon in the US).  But after a doctor saw him, he wasn't worked on.  Instead they asked me to run and buy the doctor all of the supplies needed.  This meant that I had to run and buy catgut stitches, painkillers, antibioticts, gauze, etc, etc.  Luckily the hospital pharmacy was well stocked and wasn't sold out of anything.  But this still took me 20 minutes to get done while he sat there with a large open wound.  Then in the middle of the repair, the doctor had me run and get him more supplies so that he could finish.  It was a horrible experience and I certainly hope that I never need to visit an emergency room here in Peru.

Currently many hospitals here make interns do most of the work.  They are currently treated like slaves.  They often have to work 12-16 hour shifts and many times the shifts come back to back, so they end up working 24-48 hours non-stop with only a few minutes to sleep in a closet.  This hopefully will change next year with a new law that only allows them to be forced to work 6 hours per day.  But many doctors here let interns take care of all of their diagnosis and paperwork, including writing their signature and stamping it.  Then the doctor just looks over their work in 10-15s and moves on to the next.

It's difficult to find a real doctor in many hospitals and emergency rooms because they make the residents and interns do all of the work.  If you ask for a real doctor to work on you, it might mean that you aren't worked on for over 2 hours.

There are also many false doctors here in Peru that operate with forged papers.  Only a small amount of these are caught each year.  Many of them having worked without proper education for 10+ years.  The most recent I saw was a dentist who did plastic surgery for 10 years or so before being caught due to patient deaths.

In addition, many hospitals don't provide proper safety supplies to their employees.  This means running out of rubber gloves, sterilizing materials, etc.  My wife has also seen a number of 'sterile' instraments placed on the floor or dirty surfaces by nurses just before surgery.

If you live in Lima and pay top dollar for health care, it is possible that you might get decent care.   But for the other 99% of people in Peru (both foreign and Peruvian), the health care is well behind US standards and service.

This discussion is really getting silly. Of course Peru, with an emerging economy, has health care problems. Who is denying that? Almost all the countries in the world have health care problems. So does the US. If not, how come health care is such a big issue in the US elections? The main point of the original article, which I think is intelligent, sensible and useful for someone coming to Peru, was to say that if you are not poor you can recieve good medical attention in Peru. There are very good clinics, and very good doctors. And their services are by far cheaper than their equals in the US. That doesn't  mean there are no bad doctors. And bad hospitals, similar to the US hospitals mentioned in other comments above. From my experience I wouldn't be so sure about the quality of those US standards and services.  Finally, all of you who want to come to Peru and are worried about health care issues, you can be sure that you are safe to come, there is XXI century medicine, practiced by trained and skilfull doctors, unless you plan to live in central Amazonia, or are extremely poor, or are culturally egocentric.

There isn't really XXI century medicine in any city other than Lima.  You can find passable temporary doctors for physicals and such in other cities, but you certainly do not want them performing any operations or emergency proceedures on you.

Yes, health care in Peru is safe if you are willing to pay for the best, but this only applies in Lima.  Most tourists and foreigners are not going to be content with spending their entire vacation/trip/etc in only Lima.

If you are outside of Lima and need emergency care, you are in for a rude awakening if you think you will be treated at US standards and service.

In regards to primary care I fully agree that Peru can be compared favorably to most 1st world nations.  However, you are consuming too much Ayahuasca if you'd choose Peru over the USA for treating things such as head traumas, organ transplants, cancer, etc.

My experiences are a bit mixed. I fell off a truck in Cusco & snapped the ball of my right shoulder joint & needed surgury to repair it. The hospital seemed OK but it took them four days to do it (badly) - thats a long time when you have an armpit full of sharp bone fragments.

A week later I went to Arequipa, found a doctor recommended by friends who refered me to a specialist in Lima - extremely professional & modern. Two days later I'd been put back together properly.

As a contrast - while travelling through California my girlfriends gall bladder tried to explode. We spent 48 hours in the emergency room before getting *any* attention. When finally seen by a doctor she was classed as urgent and in surgury an hour later.

You can find good & bad healthcare just about anywhere - it all depends on the doctor.

 I was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2002. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation. In the year 2006 the cancer came back and I had chemotherapy for the second time. In August of 2007 it came back for a third time. I finished my treatment in February of 2008.

Let me say that the treatment and attention I received could not have been better. I have lived in Peru for the last 20 years. I would not think of going anywhere else to be treated.

This country has excellent Doctors. I pay my taxes and have access to the state healthcare system. I also have a private health insurance which when needed is first class.

Hey everybody:  let's wrap it up!........the US has a lousy health care system, for a "1st World" country.  Peru has an incredible health care system for a developing nation....yes, mainly in Lima.  Just read what Augusto Tamayo has to say about Peruvian medicine and doctors, above. You can find some of the most professional and accurate diagnosticians in the world.....in Lima!  I remember as a child how my doctor would look below my eyeballs, then at my fingernails, and lastly he would tap me on different parts of the abdomen. Then, he would make the perfect diagnosis. I have never seen any doctor in the US do this. Also, Peruvian doctors show respect and humanity to their patients...while oftentimes I've been asked by a US doctor: "what's up!"....or coldly, "what brings you here today?"

A couple of years ago I got sick after overindulging at a buffet.  I called "DOCTOR" (444-9377) and a very nice Dr. Javier Garmendia Pelaez showed up. He didn't talk much....he just put his ear on my abdomen and said: "you have a lot of undigested food in there". He scribbled a prescription, put me on a "dieta de pollo" diet, shook my hand and left. It wasn't long before I started to feel well.

By contrast, some years ago I asked my US gastroenterologist to give me an endoscopy to check things out because I felt discomfort in my esophagus. He kept saying: "you don't need an endoscopy". I continued putting pressure on him until he finally ordered one. On the day of the procedure.....just before he put me to sleep, I sat up and said: "Dr. Talley, you better check me for "helicobacter pylori". His answer: "what makes you think you have "helicobacter pylori?".  (I was ready to grab this guy by the scruff of the neck). I insisted: "Doctor....just check for it, please!!". Talley said: "Well.....ok!!.".  After the procedure he walks over to me and says: "well.....you were right, you do have "helicobacter pylori'...". Needless to say....I never went back to this unprofessional physician who couldn't even diagnose me and had me begging for an endoscopy. Basically, I diagnosed myself after reading an article about the bacteria that causes ulcers.

Self diagnosis is an important part of all medicine.  You know yourself better than any doctor ever could. If you know enough to make a diagnosis, it is a great benefit to both the doctor and yourself.

If and when I become ill or have an accident, I want to be in Peru with Peruvian doctors and Peuvian nurses.  I have always been treated with care and respect and have been brought back to good health quickly, without losing my home in the process.  Peruvian doctors and nurses saved the life of a family member and when she returned to her home country the doctors there were impressed with the treatment this individual had received. Most bones in her body were broken when she was hit by a car and Peruvian doctors put her back together like a jigsaw puzzle.  She not only survived but she walked again.  Would this have happened in her home country?  Not according to the physicians in her home country.

Also, when friends/family visit me here (I don't live in Lima) and when they become ill with one thing or another, they are also quickly brought back to good health.  Peruvian doctors and nurses don't see themselves as gods but rather, as professionals doing a job and doing it well.  Here we are not "bed #3" or #the appendicitis" or whatever, we are human beings known by our names.

We also very much appreciate the fact that in Peru doctors still make house calls.  You don't have to drag your aching body to an emergency room and sit there for hours and hours or wait weeks to see a physician.  My doctor doesn't give preference to my family because we are privileged extranjeras; many of us have had to wait while she attends to a local Indigenous person and that's the way I like it to be.  Fair is fair.

Arriba Peru!!!  Blessings on Peruvian doctors and nurses - they are fabulous!!!!

I am afraid this discussion is set within a broader frame of prejudice and ignorance about Peru.  Sometimes it is good to remember, not only in  health matters but in others, that Peru joined the western culture 100 years before any pilgrim set foot in US coasts. During the early 1500's sopisticated poetry was writen here. The first newspaper of the continent was published in Lima in 1630, called "El diario de Lima". The first western type university was founded here in 1554, 100 years before anybody thought about university education in the US. Scientists, geographers, naturalists investigated and published works in Lima almost 3 centuries ago. The first western style opera of the Americas was writen and played in Lima in the middle of the 17th century. Western culture flourished here before anywhere else in the American continent. Nevertheless, Spaniards first and Peruvians afterwards did not obliterate its native indigenous culture, unfortunately due to different causes it became a poor country with huge social and economic problems and conflicting cultures, while the US became an homogenous empire. Differences are economic, with all its obvious consequences, but there is no cultural superiority if you compare similar levels of education, medical or otherwise. Sometimes it's good to have a historical perspective of things when passing opinion.

Could I also get the name of this doctor? And the name of the clinic where he works? I am also from California but I am moving from France with my boyfriend and we want to be sure to find a good doctor in Lima.

Thanks.

Dear Mr Lipmann,
I live in Germany and lately I´ve been reading your articles about liiving  in Peru in the webside.
After 21 years of living n Germany my family is planning to go back to live in Lima-Peru. I grew up in Miraflores and if we should go back to live in  Lima we probably would be moving to Miraflores as well.
However and unfortunately the many bad news in the area of crime-personal safty-is one of the biggest reasons why we have not taken this big and most desired step yet.
Since we live in one of the safest areas of Germany it is quite difficult to imagine to go back to a place where people face daily this kind of issues.We have also lived in New York,California and other european cities  where crime is an issue as well, but we have never felt so unsafe like the last time we were in Lima 2 years ago.
In one of your articles you mentioned that you are from the US and have moved to Lima and feel quite settled and happy living there. I wonder if you could mention something about the issue of personal safety.Are the news that we hear about the crime in Lima really so worrisome? and as "foreigner" do you feel that you are a personal target of the thieves that are out there looking for those who seem to have "more money" than the regular peruvians?.
I would really appreciate to read an article about this issue. It would interesting to know how do you personal feel about this. Have you written an article about this already or do you think you could write an article on this subject?.
It would be great if I could get some feed back from you.
Kind regards
Isabel

Hi

I am a patient of elbow joint, i fell down from the roof 7

years ago, here in Pkistan the doctos did surgery of

my hand more than 15 times,this time the hand is fine

but elbow not joit but now here the doctors

told me that the treatment is not possible any more here in

Pakistan, so now i want that you look at my hand X-Rays and

i want to fix an appointment with you. Also provided that

we need the cost information described by the regarding doctor.

It wud be more helpfull if the treatment is cheaper but effective.

The fact is we cant afford much expenses. Simply i can afford upto

8000 ponds some how. I am

going to attach some of my hands picture, and Xrays. If

you need further information , i will provide you. i

am waiting for your reply. please i need a quick feed back.

The hand is fine but the elbow joint. it is not properly jointed.

(we want treatment for only elbow joint)

I will be glad if u fix a quick appointment with the you.

because my hand's condition is going bad day by day.

send me oppintment latter and cost latter

on this adress as soon as posible.

Regards

Israr Ul Haq

mohala juna kheel

theseel &distric swabi

NWFP pakistan

mob# 0092-300-5272405

your page is very interesting    please send me all the news! thanks, Celia

 ¨Let¨s  all remember or learn  that peruvian medicine doctors are widely recognized in the U.S.   One example is Dr. Elmer Huerta  who belongs in the medical staff of the White House and has a radio program that is listened all over the country.  Furthermore, even though he lives in the U.S. he has a radio sequence here in Lima in Radio Programas del Perú.  He has created and founded a cancer prevention center in the U.S.  If you are living in the U.S. and need a good doctor look for a peruvian one.  My husband had Poli aneurism in the brain and was operated on by Dr.  Roca  so successfully that he went back to work after a short month.   He was so considerate that he offered to perform the surgery at no cost in a public hospital , fortunately we could afford the operation in a private clinic which allowed us to be near our patient most of the time.

Well, I'm from Chile but I'm living in Peru since 2005 with my family. When we were coming to Peru we heard a lot of times the same commentary about the quality of Peruvian health service. Now, after 3 years in this beautiful country, I can say that my experience with Peruvian medical service has good an bad moments. My dad almost died because a doctor said he only had flu and what he really had was a liver abcess, so we went back to Chile to find a better treatment for that problem, thanks to God he is much better now and that situation is just a nightmare for us. Nowadays we have a really good doctor to take care of my dad and my family. In conclussion if you want to have a good medical attention you must look for a good doctor and don't take the first opinion you recieve, keep looking and looking untill you find the correct doctor just becuase your health is not a game....