Quickie. Not What You Think

 

I follow a lot of expats on social media and whenever the content creator is a person from the US who lives abroad, or a European who lives in the US, the topic of the absurdly expensive and incredibly complicated system of medical insurance in the US inevitably comes up at some point. Usually it is a comparison of costs for things like calling an ambulance, giving birth or having your wisdom teeth pulled. Whenever the UK comes into the equation the bottom line is often, well, the NHS is free, but you might have to wait for months to get the treatment you need. 

I was reminded of this topic when I decided to make a visit (without having an appointment) to a centre for orthopaedic doctors in the city centre of Vienna that I had visited before after a few days of neck pain and headaches (meanwhile, these have been replaced by an excruciatingly itchy scalp, but that's another story). I was prepared to have to wait for quite some time, but really wanted to have this looked into before the weekend: I left the countryhouse at 2 p.m. (Highflyer dropped me off at the train station), headed straight to that centre where I was surprised to find hardly anyone in the waiting room, was able to see a doctor 5 minutes later, got an injection in my neck and left with a referral for 2 different x-rays, another one for physiotherapy and a pharmacy subscription for muscle relaxant as well as an appointment to come back to discuss the x-ray results a week later. Since the place where I usually go for x-rays and ultrasounds was only a 5-minute walk away, I decided to chance it and ask if there was any chance of getting it done that day without an appointment. The friendly lady at reception told me I might have to wait for at least half an hour, but just as I had peeled myself out of my jacket and scarf on the floor where x-rays take place, I was already called in one of the changing rooms. I was back at the country house pretty much exactly 3 hours after I had left it, having popped into a pharmacy to get my prescription near the bus terminal from where I took the direct bus back to the village. Other than the EUR 7 and some change for the pills I did not have to pay anything out of pocket.

Yes, I was very lucky with the waiting times at both places and this might not have been the case on a different day, but I was still very amazed and extremely thankful that I live in a country where public health insurance covers such a good and efficient service. Complaining is our national sport, but sometimes it is in order to take a step back and show some appreciation for how good we have it, really!