Mexico - Puerto Vallarta - Medical Tourism

Mexico is known for its high quality, low cost medical care and, although that wasn’t the main reason for our visit to Puerto Vallarta, we certainly had it in mind as something we should take advantage of. Deborah has already seen two dentists and a doctor in Australia (where she had two teeth pulled), a physical therapist and a doctor in Thailand, and two dentists and a periodontist in New Zealand. Now she has seen an ENT and yet another dentist here in Puerto Vallarta. Wow. Obviously, continuity of care is rather difficult to achieve when you’re on the road. 

Most of Deborah's medical visits relate to a particular dental/sinus condition that has made her miserable for months and been stubbornly hard to diagnose. Her Puerto Vallarta dentist has now suggested she see another periodontist, but there aren’t any he would recommend in Puerto Vallarta for Deborah’s special case, which left us with the choice of trying to find one in the big city of Guadalajara or going back to Washington State (where we were planning to head back to for summer anyway, and had already booked accommodations). We opted for the latter, despite the fact that we will pay two to three times more for medical/dental care in the US. That price difference and the high quality of care leads many Americans and Canadians, many of whom winter in PV, to have much or all of their medical and dental needs met here or elsewhere in Mexico.

I haven’t been immune to the need for medical care either as I saw an orthopedic surgeon and physical therapist in Thailand for my sore hip, which fortunately stopped hurting after we left the hard beds of Asia behind. But then my heel started hurting in New Zealand so I saw a podiatrist here in PV who fitted me with custom orthotics. (It’s hell getting old.) I also had my routine dental checkup and cleaning and blood lab work done while we were here.

Costs for us in Australia and New Zealand were somewhat less than the US, but the real bargains were in Thailand and Mexico, where doctor appointments, even with specialists, were typically $20-35, which might even include an x-ray. Deborah’s CAT Scan in Puerto Vallarta was only $180 and her dental tomography was only $110. As in our previous visits to Mexico, we were impressed with the modern facilities and equipment, and the fact that so many practitioners spoke English. So we will certainly consider coming back to Mexico for future dental/medical needs when we can fit it into our travel plans.

If the near vertical ladders used by these workers fail, at least they are in the right place. (photo by Deborah)

Deborah, who normally drinks very little, has found that frozen Margaritas make a nice pain killer.