Are there American-trained doctors in Puerto Vallarta?
Michael Keller - Guardian Insurance Mexico
In Puerto Vallarta and other places in Mexico, there are some of the top hospitals in the world and especially in the Western Hemisphere or in the Americas. This is especially true for Guadalajara, which is a four hours drive from Puerto Vallarta, but even in Puerto Vallarta, there are hospitals. One is called Amerimed, which is one of the bigger hospitals in Puerto Vallarta. And yes, there are American-trained doctors. Because I work in insurance and we do...
In Puerto Vallarta and other places in Mexico, there are some of the top hospitals in the world and especially in the Western Hemisphere or in the Americas. This is especially true for Guadalajara, which is a four hours drive from Puerto Vallarta, but even in Puerto Vallarta, there are hospitals. One is called Amerimed, which is one of the bigger hospitals in Puerto Vallarta. And yes, there are American-trained doctors. Because I work in insurance and we do health insurance, I have a pretty good knowledge of the hospitals and the Americans who use the hospital, and they all rave about how good they're treated, how good the doctors are, and especially the cost. It's such a high quality of care for a fraction of the cost in the States.
Luckily, I have not had any personal experience of needing to go to the doctors at the hospitals in Puerto Vallarta. That's a good thing, too, because I don't have my own insurance yet. I'm sure it will happen at some point, but I'm not concerned about the medical care I would receive without having insurance.
There are private hospitals that take private insurance, and then there are government-run hospitals that people get through their work. A lot of expats who come down to Mexico who don't want to spend the money on the private hospitals go to the government hospitals, which are in a system called IMSS. They're all throughout Mexico.
The doctors are still good in the IMSS system, but they're a little understaffed. You get put in a room with five or six other people. If you have someone who wants to come stay with you overnight, they have to sleep under your bed. A lot of times you have to bring your own toilet paper and bathroom products. IMSS hospitals don't take people according to the severity of whatever they're at the hospital for. They take patients on a first-come-first-served basis. You could have a gunshot wound and be waiting for days because you got there and there are so many people ahead of you.
There is a big difference between the quality of care, the experience, and capabilities of the doctors between the private hospitals and the government-run hospitals. A lot of people will start off with the government-run hospitals, will go there once, have an extremely bad experience, and then decide it is worth to pay the money to go to the private hospitals.
Private hospitals here in Puerto Vallarta look and smell exactly like a hospital in the United States. The costs of the private hospitals down here at Puerto Vallarta are obviously not as much as the US, but depending on what you're there for, the prices can get up in the US $20,000 to US $40,000 range. That's why it's good to have health insurance if you can't pay these amounts out of pocket and you don't want to go to the government. Something that might cost $75,000 in the US would cost $20,000 or $30,000 in Puerto Vallarta, with the exact same quality of care. Some of our clients for our health insurance have even said that the quality they received here in Mexico is better than what they've experienced when they lived in the States.
The doctors here are extremely good. A lot of them are bilingual. They speak English, especially here because Puerto Vallarta is a tourist town. You can get your own room. They have chemotherapy. They're very advanced down here at Puerto Vallarta.
(A suite in Amerimed Hospital, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted February 17, 2016
Audrey Royem - Ai Real Estate Group
There are American-trained doctors in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding areas. One of my favorite dentists was trained in New York and takes a lot of classes. It’s important to realize that Mexico has a really strong medical field. Mexican doctors in Mexico have discovered a lot of technologies and innovations in the health field. As a result, the level of care that you’re getting here is in many ways much higher than in the...
There are American-trained doctors in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding areas. One of my favorite dentists was trained in New York and takes a lot of classes. It’s important to realize that Mexico has a really strong medical field. Mexican doctors in Mexico have discovered a lot of technologies and innovations in the health field. As a result, the level of care that you’re getting here is in many ways much higher than in the States.
For example, for obese people, the stomach surgery was invented by a Mexican and there are a couple heart valves that were invented by Mexicans. Also, there are a lot more and different types of drugs that are available in Mexico that aren’t available in the States that perhaps are more effective. In a way, the Mexicans are experts in this field.
The doctors here are very responsive to you and the care they provide is more personal. You could make an appointment on short notice and they will see you, they’ll give you their home or cellphone number so you can follow-up with questions or comments, so the level care is a lot higher in that regard.
I had my baby in Guadalajara, which was an interesting scenario. There are lots of expats who have babies here. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the Caesarean rate is way too high in this area, at about 90%. As a result, I was apprehensive to go into a hospital, because I didn’t want a Caesarean, and I tried to find a solution that was more alternative or mother-focused. I ended up having the baby in Guadalajara with some midwives who were fabulous.
(Audrey Royem with her baby in San Sebastian, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted March 15, 2016
Peter F Gordon, MD - Lake Medical Group
I am an American-trained doctor in Puerto Vallarta. There are a lot of physicians in Puerto Vallarta who had done additional training and fellowships in the United States. There are few, myself included, who have completed residency training in the United States. Most physicians in Puerto Vallarta would attend international conferences. We think of the United States as being the "Mecca" of medical training. In many senses from a...
I am an American-trained doctor in Puerto Vallarta. There are a lot of physicians in Puerto Vallarta who had done additional training and fellowships in the United States. There are few, myself included, who have completed residency training in the United States. Most physicians in Puerto Vallarta would attend international conferences. We think of the United States as being the "Mecca" of medical training. In many senses from a physician's perspective, some of the best places to go for education and training are not just the United States, but also Europe, Southeast Asia, and other places. There are also very well educated and experienced physicians from around the world who come to Mexico to attend medical conferences.
There is no reason for Americans to be worried about the training received by doctors in Puerto Vallarta. People are apprehensive at first because Mexico is a foreign country. It's like anything that's new or different. You're a little bit nervous and scared.
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I get the same response from my patients all the time: "I wouldn't go anywhere else."
There was a fellow on a sailboat who had an injury and he needed to get care immediately. Some of the people on the boat were talking on the radio to try to arrange to get him evacuated to the States. The injured man kept breaking in on the radio saying, "No. Get me to Puerto Vallarta."
Patients like the attention that they get from doctors of Puerto Vallarta. They feel very comfortable with the doctors' expertise and knowledge. The resources that we have here in Puerto Vallarta are sometimes better than what one would find in the States.
(Dr. Peter F. Gordon, pictured.)
Posted October 6, 2017