Are the doctors in the Pedasi, Azuero, Panama area good?

A few weeks ago we visited the current Health Center (Centro de Salud) in Pedasi, located one block down from the town square and where we were pleased as usual to find how well equipped and maintained it is and how efficient the doctors were.

 

One of our founders had the chance to use the emergency services in Pedasi at the beginning of the month, and he was amazed by how fast, good and inexpensive the medical attention was and how courteous the...

A few weeks ago we visited the current Health Center (Centro de Salud) in Pedasi, located one block down from the town square and where we were pleased as usual to find how well equipped and maintained it is and how efficient the doctors were.

 

One of our founders had the chance to use the emergency services in Pedasi at the beginning of the month, and he was amazed by how fast, good and inexpensive the medical attention was and how courteous the doctors are in Pedasi.

 

(We have him back in great conditions again, by the way!)

For medical needs in Pedasi, we only have a health clinic, which is similar to what you would expect in the States when going into a walk-in emergency clinic.  The doctors here are pretty good at what they do, but what they do and the facilities they have are pretty minimal.  For example, there aren’t any surgeons in town.  The doctors in Pedasi are good to treat a common cold, the flu; things like that.  If you have something more serious, you need to go to a...

For medical needs in Pedasi, we only have a health clinic, which is similar to what you would expect in the States when going into a walk-in emergency clinic.  The doctors here are pretty good at what they do, but what they do and the facilities they have are pretty minimal.  For example, there aren’t any surgeons in town.  The doctors in Pedasi are good to treat a common cold, the flu; things like that.  If you have something more serious, you need to go to a larger city, where they have more extensive healthcare facilities.
 
Going to a doctor here in Pedasi is a bit different than what you’d expect when going to a doctor in the States.  For example, when you go to the doctor here you have to bring your own medical records with you. 
 
They recently built a new hospital in Pedasi, but at this point, it has not opened.
 
The closest hospital to the new one in Pedasi that is not open is in Las Tablas, but rather than going to a hospital in Las Tablas, I would suggest going further towards the city, to Chitre (an hour to an hour and a half away from Pedasi), which has a better hospital that’s private.  To meet the standards that we’re used to in the US, you would want to go to a private hospital.
 
I have also heard that there’s an airlift available that you can use for emergencies that can take you from Pedasi to Panama City really quickly and that is less expensive than an ambulance ride.