Medical Care in South Africa

BG and I had the opportunity to experience South African medical care during one of our trips-and it was a very positive experience (given the circumstances!).

BG suffered a major injury while hiking-that in itself is a series of blog posts…She required ICU treatment and was in the hospital for 10 days. I cannot say enough great things about the care she received, the doctors that attended to her, and the medical technology that supported her. I never had any qualms about her treatment (but I had many qualms about her condition!).

I saw some differences between U.S. health care (from a layman’s perspective). In general, our hospital seemed to offer the same level of care (or better!) than typical U.S. facilities. The main difference was that South Africa would have one specialist while the U.S. may have five-but the South African specialist was the best we could have!

Also, BG received treatment in a private hospital so I cannot compare the experience to public ones. I can compare the cost of treatment in South Africa versus the U.S., and there is no comparison-South African private health care costs were far less for the same quality level. It may partly have something to do with liability-South Africans seem to sue far less than Americans do (or so I am told).

I understand now why people from all over Africa travel to South Africa for their medical care…

So just a note to encourage you in your travels in South Africa-if you require hospitalization (heaven forbid!), you will be in excellent hands.

And most importantly, BG is just fine!

What do you think? Please add your comments by clicking on the title above (“Medical Care in South Africa)”…

Raymond Pechacek lives in the U.S. and is married to a wonderful South African lady (BG!). He writes about the people, customs, wildlife, and places of South Africa, runs a consulting firm to help companies improve their global trade processes, and imports products into the U.S. - with an emphasis on supporting South Africa!