MEDICAL COSTS IN INDIA VS SPAIN /ISRAEL
Rajeeb Roy/Spain
MEDICAL COSTS IN INDIA VS SPAIN /ISRAEL : STORY OF AN EYE:
I was visiting Barcelona (Spain) and Tel Aviv( Israel )last week. There I faced some health issues and this story is to share my experience related to costs of medical treatment in Spain and in Israel.
I developed a Stye (an inflamed swelling on the edge of an eyelid, caused by bacterial infection of the gland at the base of an eyelash) on my right eye.
As advised by my wife Ranjana I used traditional methods like hot water eye compression.
There was no comfort from hot compress for 3 days before I decided to visit an eye hospital in Barcelona. It was Sunday where it is a weekend closure. I visited about 5 Hospitals.
None of them had eye specialists. The 5th hospital named Sagrada Familia told that they did not have an expert at that moment however if I could deposit 400 Euro ( 1 Euro =70.92 Rupees, Rs28,371 Rupees) then she will call the doctor. Since there doctor was not readily available and I had to take a flight to Israel. I left for the airport with a decision to get it checked in Israel.
I landed in Israel on the 27th of April and I went to a General Physician with my local friend . He wrote me a prescription and charged me Rs 4100/- as consultation charges.
My problem aggravated ten folds by next morning with big selling, pus and un bearable pain in the eye. I requested my local contacts to take me to an eye specialists.
On 28th I visited an eye Specialist in Tel Aviv who wrote and antibiotic and pain killer to be taken for 7 days and the bill for the service was 1200 Shekels ( Rs19,700).
With these medicines on I flew back to India on the 1st of May 2015 and since I did not recover completely I decided to visit Shankara Eye Hospital near my home. I did my registration, paid the doctors fee and got a VVIP Treatment with a proper prescription I recovered in just one day. No prizes for guessing how much it costs in India. See the enclosed rate card.
I always admired the facilities abroad. But my this experienced has changed my mind a bit. I had insurance to cover me however the medical expense otherwise is un affordable.
I could introspect India from my one working eye. Over all we are not so bad. We have many shortcomings but there are many plus.
Sare Jahan Se accha Hindustan hamara
