Are there English-speaking doctors in Yucatan: Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Cancun, Merida, etc?
Mitch Keenan - Mexico International Real Estate
Yes, there are English-speaking doctors in Yucatan. Merida is renowned for it's hospitals and health care industry. Most doctors speak some English because many of the textbooks they use in the local medical schools are written in English.
A good friend of mine is currently attending medical school at one of the most esteemed institutions in Mexico - UADY. Most of his textbooks are in English. We usually...
Yes, there are English-speaking doctors in Yucatan. Merida is renowned for it's hospitals and health care industry. Most doctors speak some English because many of the textbooks they use in the local medical schools are written in English.
A good friend of mine is currently attending medical school at one of the most esteemed institutions in Mexico - UADY. Most of his textbooks are in English. We usually converse in Spanish but he can speak and understand English. The same is true of nearly all doctors in Merida. Many speak fluent English.
Healthcare here is excellent, reasonably priced and accessible. In fact, an entire industry has cropped up around healthcare, medicine and medical procedures. Medical tourism continues to grow and attract many foreigners from around the globe. Carlos Slim, one of Mexico's multi-billionaires is heavily invested in Mexico's healthcare.
(Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Autonomous University of Yucatan, UADT, pictured.)
Posted September 14, 2015
Jason Waller - Playa del Carmen Real Estate
We have great hospitals and great doctors here in Yucatan. Any private hospital you go to they’re all going to speak English. We’ve switched all our doctors over to a hospital here in town (Playa del Carmen, where I live) just because everybody speak English and they have everything on site. But the big thing I’ve noticed here is that a doctor’s visit costs us around US $30. And if you need tests or there’s anything that...
We have great hospitals and great doctors here in Yucatan. Any private hospital you go to they’re all going to speak English. We’ve switched all our doctors over to a hospital here in town (Playa del Carmen, where I live) just because everybody speak English and they have everything on site. But the big thing I’ve noticed here is that a doctor’s visit costs us around US $30. And if you need tests or there’s anything that you need to be checked for secondarily it’s going to be done immediately whereas back home in Canada you can wait up to 6 months to get tested if you need for something.
Doctors here are great. Our daughter was born in Canada and our son was born here, and the experience here was a lot better. The care we got here was better. The amount of people taking care of you is great. My wife was treated as if she were in a spa. She had people massaging her feet.
We’ve had nothing but great healthcare experiences in Mexico. I’ve had hernia surgery here. The hospitals are all brand new, and clean. The doctors are all great. Most of our doctors come from Mexico City and they just want to work in a nicer area that’s not such a big city. They like the beach lifestyle, so as a result, we get a lot of good doctors.
If you lived in Playa Del Carmen and had a major disease, you may want to go to a bigger city like Mexico City or back to Canada or the US. I feel 100% comfortable with the healthcare here. No concerns at all. We’re really happy. We love our doctors. They’re great.
(Josh Waller with family in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted November 7, 2015
Gary De Spiegelaere - Celestun Properties
Every one of the doctors that I go to here in the state of Yucatan speaks English! Here, doctors have their own specialty. You very seldom find a general practitioner, who is a jack of all trades. The general practitioner would look at you and tell you whether you need to go to a neurologist or to another specialty doctor. 90% of the doctors that I go to have very good but not excellent English so I am not concerned if I am by myself and I need to go...
Every one of the doctors that I go to here in the state of Yucatan speaks English! Here, doctors have their own specialty. You very seldom find a general practitioner, who is a jack of all trades. The general practitioner would look at you and tell you whether you need to go to a neurologist or to another specialty doctor. 90% of the doctors that I go to have very good but not excellent English so I am not concerned if I am by myself and I need to go to a doctor because there are plenty of English-speaking doctors in Merida (a city of over one million in the state of Yucatan in the Yucatan Peninsula). Most of the doctors in Celestún, a village of about 7,500 people in the state of Yucatan, where I live, are new doctors. Most of the small villages are what they call training areas. Doctors are assigned in these areas before they could practice in the bigger areas of Mexico like Merida. They have to spend two years practicing in smaller hospitals. It is also like paying for your education. A lot of the doctors in the smaller communities, being that they are young people, do speak better English. You can communicate with them and tell them what is wrong and they can communicate back to tell you what needs to be done. It will not be perfect English but it is on a level where you both understand each other and you will get fixed.
To put this into context, I understand more Spanish more than I can speak. I have built houses here with contractors who speak no English. I built our 6,000 square foot house with not a word of Spanish.
(Beach at Celestún, Yucatan, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted December 24, 2015
Mikki James
There are more English-speaking doctors in the Yucatan than you might think. And a lot the doctors here were trained in the US, Europe or Canada and come back here to practice their trade. Overall, for this entire region, I would say probably about 25% speak English. You can always find someone who speaks English. You’ll find more English speakers in Merida than you would at the small fishing villages like Progresso, where I live. I...
There are more English-speaking doctors in the Yucatan than you might think. And a lot the doctors here were trained in the US, Europe or Canada and come back here to practice their trade. Overall, for this entire region, I would say probably about 25% speak English. You can always find someone who speaks English. You’ll find more English speakers in Merida than you would at the small fishing villages like Progresso, where I live. I can’t say from personal experience, but I’m sure you’ll find more English speakers in the state of Quintana Roo, in Cancun, for example, because Cancun has many tourists.
(Cobá, an ancient Mayan city in Quintana Roo, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted January 23, 2016
Gustavo Cisneros - Petén
A lot of the doctors in the Yucatan were trained in the US and some of them were trained in Mexico.The health industry here is growing. A gastric bypass is sometimes three times more expensive in the US so people from the US come here to have that procedure done. Procedures like hip replacements are also cheaper here, which is why people from North America come to Mexico to get them done.
There are even businesses in Merida that give special advice before you get...
A lot of the doctors in the Yucatan were trained in the US and some of them were trained in Mexico.The health industry here is growing. A gastric bypass is sometimes three times more expensive in the US so people from the US come here to have that procedure done. Procedures like hip replacements are also cheaper here, which is why people from North America come to Mexico to get them done.
There are even businesses in Merida that give special advice before you get these procedures done. You could call them, tell them what you need, and they will give you the best service, starting with picking you up at the airport. They will then take you to a place where you could stay accompany you to several doctors, and they will even show you around.
Medical tourism is becoming one of the key elements of focus for the government. The state government is actively promoting medical tourism in Cancun and in Merida. Doctors here do speak English because they have to since they are targeting English-speaking people as patients.
(Centro Medico de las Americas or otherwise know as CMA, a private hospital in Merida, Mexico, pictured.)
Posted February 19, 2016