an apple a day...

My arches have fallen and they can't get up, at least not without fancy orthotic shoe inserts that Sebastian, the German orthotics and prosthetics guy, will have custom made for me Tennessee. I learned that on my consult last weekend at the mall. Yes, I go to the mall for my healthcare. Not
everyone in Dubai does, there are hospitals and clinics all over. On one occasion, I went to see a specialist in a converted home (mini mansion) where limited parking means required valet service. But for most of my healthcare needs, it's the world's largest mall for me, because that's how I roll (or because it was one of the places near my house I was sure I knew how to get to when I first had to make an appointment.)


Healthcare here isn't especially different from healthcare in the US from a consumer point of view- outside of the mall business. I suspect it may be a bit different for the doctors. Talking with a podiatrist last summer, she mentioned that there weren't enough podiatrists in the country to have a society- I guess you need at least 12 practitioners and they couldn't muster that many. Anyhow, I have an insurance policy, provided by my employer. I find a clinic or doctor or hospital that does direct billing (or if I don't I can submit claims for reimbursement) and I go see doctors and have procedures and labs done and whatever.

I just read an article about a phase-in plan to require employers in small companies to provide insurance in Dubai. Larger companies already must and in Abu Dhabi, apparently, they already have mandatory universal insurance coverage. All over the country, Emirati citizens can avail themselves of free government provided healthcare though from what I understand, most prefer a private insurance provider for the greatest choice and highest quality care. It's the many ex-pat laborers who will be covered as this new law becomes mandatory. It's already the case that you won't be refused emergency care at a hospital.

A few things are different though. For any ongoing prescriptions, the max a doc can prescribe at one time is a 3 month supply so I have to go see my doctor every 3 months. It's a bit of a pain but at the same time, when I call for an appointment, I can usually get in within 24-48 hours of my call if I'd like and the doctors tend to have some evening and weekend hours available too. Though I took advantage of that last week and it led to a small act of rebellion- I parked in a spot that was clearly not designed to be parked in. This is widespread and obnoxious behavior, this wedging your car into any blank space, something I wasn't keen to participate in, but I'd spent 20+ min stuck in traffic inside the parking garage. I was about to be late and was feeling desperate. It was the last evening of the month- long shopping fest and on a weekend evening, that was part of the problem. In the end there were no ill effects (I didn't get a ticket, no one backed into my car and I got over feeling bad about being one of the jerky parkers.)

blurry pic of the space age waiting area

 I've also had a pleasantly international array of medical professionals. My primary care physician is Spanish, her nurse assistant is Filipino, there's the aforementioned German orthotics guy and the podiatrist was Scottish (ingrown toenails sound nicer with a lilt). I can fill my entire prescription right there at the mall clinic (seems to a number of Indian pharmacists) after my appointment. They never seem to have quite enough in stock to cover all 3 months at once, but they write me a note and call me when more stock comes in and it's back to the mall.

The whole process is simultaneously super high tech, efficient and advanced (I get a text immediately after I schedule an appointment, the billing people are in regular real-time contact with insurance people to approve stuff while I wait) and also very small town and casual (the little handwritten  note about the extra meds the pharmacy owes me, the fact that my doc will call me after she gets my labs to chat about them.)

could be a hallway at a medical complex anywhere in the US, huh?