I mentioned a little bit ago that I had to go to the doctor so I wanted to write a post about how that went! I'm getting behind on all the things I want to blog about!
So, first of all, in France there are no such things as medchecks or anything like that from what I've seen, there is just the hospital and a bunch of private practice doctors, some specialized and some not. So when I needed to see a doctor I didn't know where to start. Thank goodness I have friends here.
I asked my friends if any of them had gone to a doctor here and I got the name of one that was only a couple metro stops away and came with a really good recommendation. So it's Friday morning and I call and ask to make an appointment. The only time Friday that they could get me in was too late for me because I'd be working so Monday it was.
(Ps- speaking French on the phone is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, I just kept saying 'pardon!?' while the secretary undoubtedly rolled her eyes. )
So I leave my apartment an hour and a half early to get to the doctor, just to be sure I'm not late and giving myself time to get lost, because inevitably that will happen. But no, I found it, and was a full hour early, luckily there were a few stores around so I managed to entertain myself.
Finally it's time for my appointment and I walk to the door and can't figure out how to open it. It's not like a store door, it's an apartment building that has been leased out to doctors, lawyers etc. and I'm panicking because I should be able to figure out how to open a door. I call my friend and ask, she tells me there should be a button at the top of a little silver box on the door that has everyone's name listed. I find it and shout "ah! I got it!!!" while 3 French lawyers scoot around me to hit the button, the door swings open and I look like an idiot. Meh.
So I walk up to the door of the doctors office, also locked but before panicking I found the little silver button to press and was buzzed in. I explained to the secretary that I had an appointment and she pointed to a little waiting room. I open the door and there are 5 or 6 people in the room and they are all staring at me, so I nervously sit down and get out a book that I've been trying to read in French.
As I sit there, people are getting called out of the waiting room and more people come in, what I realized as I sat there, is that when I walked in the door everyone WAS staring at me, because I was supposed to greet everyone! I had no idea, but every single person who walked through the door said "bonjour" and then was greeted equally by a "bonjour" from every other person in the room which I thought was bizarre. In the US people don't talk to each other. Haha
Anyway it's my turn and I go into the doctors office and the doc is a sweet little man who reminds me of French Richard Gere and he asks me all sorts of questions and I think I am answering them all correctly, he gets to my year of birth and I think I said 1989.
Quick side note about French numbers, 70- 99 are super complicated. Instead of having their own name, seventy is soixante-dix or sixty and ten, then sixty and eleven and so forth. Eighty is quatre-vingt or four-twenty and ninety is quatre-vingt-dix, four-twenty-ten. Bah.
Anyway he writes me a prescription that I just take to the nearest pharmacy and they will fill it no problem. He then asks for 30 euro as his fee. Which is my favorite part about the 'going to the French doctor' thing. That's not a co-pay. That's it. That's what doctors charge in France. Some charge a little more if they want to be a chic practice but generally never more than 50. And the better part is, he asked if I am on social security, which I'm not yet but will be in several months. He gave me a paper to fill out and once I am on social security, I send the paper in and my visit will be reimbursed about 60% The French government wants you to go to the doctor and be healthy even if you can barely afford it.
So I take my prescription to the nearest pharmacy; hint, there is one on every block with a bright green flashing cross. And for 10 euro I get my medicine and also another form to be reimbursed for social security. Even medicine!
Finally, there are insurance plans you can buy, which I'm in the works of doing, that will get you 100% reimbursed for any medical expenses you encounter.
I think that's absolutely amazing, when you consider my accident prone self and my apparent need to rack up a bajillion dollars in medical expenses at home. (medcheck is a 70 dollar co-pay y'all)
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