Health Care in Panama, an overview

Offshore banks. Panama Canal. Panama Jungle. Sex industry. These are some of the things Panama is famous for. Health Care, however, is not one of them, despite having an efficient nationwide system. In Panama, there are two kinds of health care systems: public and private.

The Caja de Seguro Social (also known as the Social Security System) runs the public health care network. A set amount is deducted from the monthly salaries of working Panamanians. In return, free health care benefits, prescription medicines are provided for by hospitals and clinics within the Caja de Seguro Social’s network to these individuals and their families.
Although the above system has been for years quite effective for majority of the Panamanians, foreigners and wealthier citizens usually favor the private health care system offered by privately owned medical institutions. Some of the more prominent hospitals frequented by these individuals include:

Hospital Punta Pacific – currently the only Central American hospital associated with world renowned John Hopkins hospital, their facilities are state of the art and have topnotch English speaking doctors as part of their medical staff. The hospital’s interior appearance makes guests feel as if they just stepped into a high class hotel. If money is no object to a better health, then this is the hospital to be admitted to when in Panama.

Clinica Hospital San Fernando – another well known hospital with affiliations to a Miami hospital, Tulane University and Miami Baptist Health Center, the Clinica Hospital San Fernando is another excellent alternative for private health care. Majority of the doctors are English speaking and the hospital has a proven track record while always updating their medical equipment. San Fernando is also reputed to have an amicable staff as well as very clean rooms. It is no surprise that this hospital is opening up a clinic in Coronado, one of Panama’s tourism hot spots.

Hospital Nacional – while the hospital previously catered to women for more than 3 decades, the Hospital Nacional is presently an 80 bed facility that offers its services to both genders. With over a hundred specialists on their staff, this medical facility accepts international health care plans. Ambulatory and emergency care is also available, even for US veterans. Located in Bella Vista on Ave Cuba, the ratio of nurse to patient in Hospital Nacional is one nurse to 10 patients.

Centro Medico Paitilla – a preference among the Panamanian elite, the Centro Medico Paitilla is considered one of Panama’s oldest medical institutions. Well known for their state of the art oncology unit, majority of the hospital’s doctors are English speaking.

There are also a lot of public and private hospitals in the rural areas of Panama. What’s evident though are the facts that it can be difficult to find English speaking doctors, technology isn’t as advanced, and these hospitals are much smaller and pale in comparison with their counterparts in urban Panama city.

Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!