When I was fifteen I tore my MCL during a soccer game in Tacoma, Washington. I heard three pops, like the sound your back makes when you crack it, and when I tried to stand up I felt a sinking sensation in my gut. Something was wrong. It was my first serious injury and I was abroad, thousands of miles from home, 8,318 to be exact. Seven weeks ago, I got a concussion in Romania. I did not hear any pops, but I still felt that sinking sensation in my gut. I was 5,816 miles away, but somehow I felt even further from home.
Perhaps it was because I grew up watching Grey’s Anatomy and associated Seattle doctors with incredible feats of surgery and medical practices. Perhaps it was because I had a preconceived notion that the Romanian healthcare system was not as good or that the doctors might not be as smart. Unfortunately, my preconceived notions and biases against Romanian healthcare were not entirely incorrect. For the second consecutive year, Romania ranked last (34th) in the Euro Health Consumer Index (EHCI) (Business Review 2018). Alexandra, our program assistant, warned me against the public hospitals describing them as “dirty, corrupt, and slow” saying that I “would not even get seen there, unless [I] had been in a car accident.”
Fortunately I did not have to visit a public hospital, instead I went to a private health clinic, a luxury that is at a far higher standard. Despite this, my preconceived notions of Romanian healthcare remained intact. I still believed that the private clinics would be lacking. To my surprise, the Regina Maria clinics were all incredibly clean, the decor like something out of a futuristic sci-fi film. My appointment was with a neurologist, an appointment I would never make in the United States out of fear of the cost. In Romania, it was only 180 lei, $45. A blood test only 10 lei, $2.50. An MRI only 668 lei, $170. All before insurance even came into the picture. I was thrilled that my constant hospital visits would not be racking up a huge fee, in this aspect at least I found a benefit the Romanian system held over the U.S one. However, although I was able to enjoy healthcare which I deemed cheap, private healthcare is a luxury not all Romanians can afford.
Despite my privilege in being able to attend a private health clinic, I still did not feel that safe and my biases remained, especially after my first doctor misdiagnosed me. Although I knew what was wrong (I’ve been concussed previously), I could not get my point across. The language barrier added an additional layer of difficulty I had never encountered before. It is hard enough for a doctor to understand the intimacies of a patient’s pain when they are able to converse in the same language, let alone when important information gets lost in translation. Although I can’t be mad that my doctor didn’t speak English, I was in Romania after all, it still terrified me to have my injury misdiagnosed as a ‘headache’ rather than the traumatic brain injury that it was. Now this is not to say that misdiagnoses only happen in Romania, the American healthcare system is prone to them too. However, in Romania the misdiagnoses fueled my perceptions of healthcare there, that it was not up to the standard of that found in America. Rather than the misdiagnosis being the exception to the rule, in Romania I felt like it would be the rule.
Luckily, after seven doctor’s appointments in Romania I now see things differently. It has become apparent that my first doctor was the exception. I have been treated with kindness, everyone has been understanding, and professional. My blood test took five minutes, the nurse only had to try once to find my vein. The MRI technicians were thorough and reassured me it would be over in only twenty minutes after they saw the look on my face when I caught a glimpse of the machine. Although I felt slightly betrayed when they snapped a head cage in place over my face. Even better seven doctors visits didn’t rack up thousands of dollars worth of fees!
Being injured is never a good experience, but being injured abroad is even worse. Luckily, after seven doctors visits, two diagnoses, one misdiagnosis, an MRI, and a blood test, navigating a foreign healthcare system no longer feels quite so foreign.
A Healthcare Headache?
