Inside Greece's Healthcare

April 9, 2010
Greece

Well, we have gotten an interesting look inside the Grecian health care system and feel a little like we're caught in the middle of a battle. We managed to make it almost all the way through this trip without need of medical attention, but just couldn't quite do it.

While in Africa, I think I must have picked up something nasty in my foot - probably a hookworm - I hope it's nothing worse. It has bothered me for over a month with terrible itching and burning, but I've tried to ignore it hoping it would go away on its own. At first I thought it was mosquito bites, because those Africa mosquitoes were horrible. They itched for a week straight and drove me wild until they finally calmed down. So at first I figured that's what this was. And then I guess I just settled into the routine of trying to ignore it, scratching when I could no longer take it and complaining the rest of the time. Finally Jeff decided to do a little research on the internet, which is when he brought up the possibility of hookworm. The symptoms seem to match and it would be no surprise given the conditions of the beaches and water of Lake Malawi. So it was decided I should see a doctor and try to clear it up.

At about the same time (over the Easter weekend) Jeff developed a nasty abscess on his lower abdomen. It quickly became infected and was very worrisome to us both. At that point, it became imperative that we see a doctor.

It is too tedious to go into the details, but suffice it to say, we did eventually find someone to treat Jeff and found someone who was willing to charge us an arm and a leg to do nothing about my foot.

Health care in Greece is free. Well, I suppose it's not free. it is paid by the citizens with their taxes. But anyone who needs health care can go to any Greek hospital and get free care. That's the theory anyway.

What we encountered was a resistance and downright hostility at the prospective of treating tourists. Jeff was seen at the ER of the local hospital on Rhodes, but the doctor there, although visibly concerned with the appearance of his wound, wouldn't actually do anything about the abscess other than write a prescription for an antibiotic. When I sought treatment for my foot at the same clinic, I was told the doctors were on strike - not for Greek citizens, just everybody else. Jeff was seen because his was considered an emergency.

So we found a private clinic and a doctor who treated Jeff a little more aggressively by lancing his wound and releasing some of the infection. She sent him away with prescription for two antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory and instructions to be seen at a clinic every two days to have the dressing on his wound changed.

I was a little less satisfied with the care I received for my foot, which was essentially nothing. They ran some lab tests, which I could have told them would yield nothing, since the tests consisted of running a Q-tip over my toe and sending it for analysis. They also took a blood sample. Don't know if a localized case of hookworm shows up in the bloodstream. I sure hope not. I should have just gone with her first suggestion, which was to treat the itching, since that's what was bothering me. When I suggested that maybe we should try to treat the cause rather than the symptom, she got a little testy with me and began to challenge me on why I had waited until I got to Greece to treat something I had picked up in Africa. Hell, I don't know. Thought it was bug bites, thought it would go away, just didn't think about it. Really, what difference did it make to her since I was at a private clinic and ready to fork out big bucks to be seen. That was the point at which she ordered the lab work. It cost me nearly $500, and in the end, they found nothing. Big surprise. I guess I'll keep scratching my foot until I'm home and can see a doc at the travel clinic.

In the meantime, we moved on from Rhodes to Patmos, and two days later, Jeff went to the little hospital there to have his dressing changed. The nurse removed the bandages, seemed concerned and went to get the doctor. Then the two of them stood and argued in front of Jeff - in Greek of course - over what he assumed was the appropriate course of action to be taken. In the end, the nurse changed the dressing, but the doctor told Jeff that there was no reason he needed to be coming to a clinic, that he should be changing those dressings himself.

Ok. I think I'm beginning to understand. The care is "free" but they resent the hell out of providing it. I can understand that. The citizens are paying their hard-earned tax money to provide good health care for themselves, then along come the tourists, and I can imagine there are thousands of them every year, who show up with their aches and their pains looking for "free" care, putting a strain on their system, using supplies and time that should be directed toward those who pay for it. I can sympathize with that. I'm not looking for a free hand out. You know, I wouldn't mind if they posted a fee structure for non-citizens. I would be happy to pay a fair price to be seen and treated. But that nasty attitude really rubs me the wrong way. The implication that we deliberately waited until we got to Greece to seek medical care is really offensive to me. It was obvious that Jeff's condition was recent and serious. Mine maybe not so much and at this point waiting until I get home isn't going to make much difference one way or another. Having that doctor on Patmos be so dismissive of the first doctor's orders really ticked me off. Yeah, we can certainly change a dressing, but I'm not trained to keep an eye on the damn thing and determine whether or not additional care is required.

So, our experience on Greece has been a mixed bag. Greece is terribly expensive - much pricier than we thought it would be, especially in the off season. The islands are beautiful though, the food is great, and there is a ton to see and experience. We've had some great encounters with really friendly people and we've had some not so great run-ins with crabby folks. There you have it. Those things happen everywhere, not just Greece. I guess it just grates a little harder because we're spending so much money to be here. As Mom would say, that's how the cookie crumbles. Take the good, leave the bad.

The good news is that Jeff is feeling better and we're pretty sure he's going to survive (Jeff would like me to reassure you all that he is indeed feeling fine and will not only survive, but is doing very well, thank you very much).