I have always been told that it is all about who you know in Ecuador. It is a "favor" economy. I kind of like that because it encourages friendliness, building relationships.
It definitely has it’s benefits, especially if you look at it in the sense of working with people you can trust. I think work environments become much more comfortable that way, at least I’ve had work environments with friends, such as the one I’m at now, which have made everything feel much better. The problem you run into is that people can’t be everyone’s friends and some people let it get to their heads. Just to give you an example, one of the conversations people have is that you can get a job in the municipality with the right connections but it also means forfeiting half of your salary to the person who got you the job for the first 3-6 months of when you get the job. Add to that the general dissatisfaction with the thought that X person got a job not due to merit but due to connections and there are “more worthy people” (those who have better credentials) and then it just makes everyone lose faith in the system.
The priority system on thebwristbis one thing thatbworkabwell if used. On the other hand, if the hospital is not full but they have plenty of staff to take care of y'all patients, usually systems like that are not used. Cheers from Sweden
It definitely should work well, and even if it weren’t the wrist strap, if there’s an order to follow then it should be respected but that day that I was there I just kept getting pushed back and not having a way of knowing if others situations were truly more severe than mine made me feel like I was getting the short end of the stick. The good thing is that’s all in the past and I’m on the road to recovery. Hope all is well in Sweden, saludos desde Ecuador!
I had all my wisdom teeth extracted without being knocked out, just local anesthesia. But that was years (like 30) years ago. The regular dentist used to do the extractions.
I had the local anesthesia used on me too when I had my teeth removed but having had the experience of having previous teeth removed by means of putting you to sleep, it definitely feels like a different experience. What does get very tiring is how your mouth is open a long time while they extract the teeth and that definitely makes me wish I’d just be asleep while it’s happening.
It truly is great, and getting much better as time passes. I’m sure that by the middle or end of November I’ll be able to run and be at full health again!
How good your insurance is, depends entirely upon how good your agent is. I had Blue and a few times I've had to wait for weeks for them to get an appointment. Always some excuse. Then keeping track of all the paperwork the insurance requires to get reinbursement, it's almost not worth it. A friend of mine, was experiencing heart problems. He was very concerned. He called the insurance "24hr Hotline" where someone is "always" on duty and he didn't hear from them until the next day. He wanted to know what hospital he could go to or cardiologist which is covered by his insurance. They took two weeks to get "approval" from the insurance. Honestly, I think they dropped the ball because they scolded the poor appointment setter. Then it took another week. The cardiologist wanted a stress test. Again almost a month went by and didn't hear from insurance agent. Finally he was told that the insurance said it was a "pre-existing" condition. My friend had high blood pressure. The doctor wanted him tested for a blockage. Two different things. But again, I suspect it was the insurance company covering for them not getting the appointment. On one occassion when the agent did get an appointment, my friend went to the hospital, and was told that they had cancelled the appointment because the insurance company hadn't paid their bill. The Specialist seem to be very good and very competent. Where they seem to fall down is the insurance agent and the hospital administration. Personally, I would think that a possible heart blockage should have been a RED situation.
It is absolutely terrible to hear that your friend was unable to get attended when needed. These systems, with or without insurance, seem to be very time consuming. That’s why everyone always asks each other if they know someone who can help because even if you don’t immediately know a doctor in the hospital/IESS, you might have a friend or family member who does and that’ll definitely save you from the very stressful situation that is having to wait inexcusable amounts of time to get attended for something that could be life or death.
While visiting my birth country, Ecuador, I also experienced a horrible Ecuadorian health care system. I genuinely hope that the new government changes the system for the better. Horrible place to get sick.
I’m sorry to hear that you had a horrible experience with healthcare here. I recently saw a post on FB about someone talking about IESS and man, that is just chock full of problems. There’s one that happened here in the family but I’ll probably talk about that one at a later date. I definitely also hope that things get better, for the sake of everyone.
Hello, how’s it going! I can recommend the dentist I go to, but I’m not sure if they’re proficient in English. If that’s not a problem, send me an email and I’ll send you their page on there where you can get in touch with them.
What would you like me to ask a doctor in a future podcast episode in regards to healthcare in Ecuador?
Do most Ecuadorian doctors prefer to work in private practice or for a hospital / private clinic? What are the challenges of these choices?
Thank you for the post. You continue to demonstrate lots of good preparation and organized approach.
I have always been told that it is all about who you know in Ecuador. It is a "favor" economy. I kind of like that because it encourages friendliness, building relationships.
It definitely has it’s benefits, especially if you look at it in the sense of working with people you can trust. I think work environments become much more comfortable that way, at least I’ve had work environments with friends, such as the one I’m at now, which have made everything feel much better.
The problem you run into is that people can’t be everyone’s friends and some people let it get to their heads. Just to give you an example, one of the conversations people have is that you can get a job in the municipality with the right connections but it also means forfeiting half of your salary to the person who got you the job for the first 3-6 months of when you get the job. Add to that the general dissatisfaction with the thought that X person got a job not due to merit but due to connections and there are “more worthy people” (those who have better credentials) and then it just makes everyone lose faith in the system.
The priority system on thebwristbis one thing thatbworkabwell if used. On the other hand, if the hospital is not full but they have plenty of staff to take care of y'all patients, usually systems like that are not used.
Cheers from Sweden
It definitely should work well, and even if it weren’t the wrist strap, if there’s an order to follow then it should be respected but that day that I was there I just kept getting pushed back and not having a way of knowing if others situations were truly more severe than mine made me feel like I was getting the short end of the stick. The good thing is that’s all in the past and I’m on the road to recovery.
Hope all is well in Sweden, saludos desde Ecuador!
I had all my wisdom teeth extracted without being knocked out, just local anesthesia. But that was years (like 30) years ago. The regular dentist used to do the extractions.
I had the local anesthesia used on me too when I had my teeth removed but having had the experience of having previous teeth removed by means of putting you to sleep, it definitely feels like a different experience. What does get very tiring is how your mouth is open a long time while they extract the teeth and that definitely makes me wish I’d just be asleep while it’s happening.
I am glad you are feeling better without a cast
It truly is great, and getting much better as time passes. I’m sure that by the middle or end of November I’ll be able to run and be at full health again!
How good your insurance is, depends entirely upon how good your agent is. I had Blue and a few times I've had to wait for weeks for them to get an appointment. Always some excuse. Then keeping track of all the paperwork the insurance requires to get reinbursement, it's almost not worth it. A friend of mine, was experiencing heart problems. He was very concerned. He called the insurance "24hr Hotline" where someone is "always" on duty and he didn't hear from them until the next day. He wanted to know what hospital he could go to or cardiologist which is covered by his insurance. They took two weeks to get "approval" from the insurance. Honestly, I think they dropped the ball because they scolded the poor appointment setter. Then it took another week. The cardiologist wanted a stress test. Again almost a month went by and didn't hear from insurance agent. Finally he was told that the insurance said it was a "pre-existing" condition. My friend had high blood pressure. The doctor wanted him tested for a blockage. Two different things. But again, I suspect it was the insurance company covering for them not getting the appointment. On one occassion when the agent did get an appointment, my friend went to the hospital, and was told that they had cancelled the appointment because the insurance company hadn't paid their bill. The Specialist seem to be very good and very competent. Where they seem to fall down is the insurance agent and the hospital administration. Personally, I would think that a possible heart blockage should have been a RED situation.
It is absolutely terrible to hear that your friend was unable to get attended when needed. These systems, with or without insurance, seem to be very time consuming. That’s why everyone always asks each other if they know someone who can help because even if you don’t immediately know a doctor in the hospital/IESS, you might have a friend or family member who does and that’ll definitely save you from the very stressful situation that is having to wait inexcusable amounts of time to get attended for something that could be life or death.
While visiting my birth country, Ecuador, I also experienced a horrible Ecuadorian health care system. I genuinely hope that the new government changes the system for the better. Horrible place to get sick.
I’m sorry to hear that you had a horrible experience with healthcare here. I recently saw a post on FB about someone talking about IESS and man, that is just chock full of problems. There’s one that happened here in the family but I’ll probably talk about that one at a later date. I definitely also hope that things get better, for the sake of everyone.
hey ace could you recommend a good dentist for me in your area thanks again!
Hello, how’s it going! I can recommend the dentist I go to, but I’m not sure if they’re proficient in English. If that’s not a problem, send me an email and I’ll send you their page on there where you can get in touch with them.