Living in Brazil

I thought I had written about this months ago when I had the experience, but apparently I didn’t.

There is likely more than one way to do this, as there is in the United States, at a range of prices.  I can describe my experience but not that full range.

Anyway, my back when my ex-girlfriend moved in with me, she encouraged me to get tested.  I hadn’t been tested in a while so that was a reasonable request.  I missed a chance to get free HIV testing when I was back in the U.S. in November/December and figured I’d just do it in Brazil.

So, you want a “urologist” for this in Brazil.  My ex-girlfriend looked one up on the internet for me, not too far from the apartment (I live near a hospital which also has nearby medical offices and clinics), and we made an appointment.  I didn’t have any symptoms of anything and the brief visual inspection (fun) was also fine.  The doctor prescribed tests for five STDs that don’t necessarily show symptoms and are serious (several varieties of HIV and hepatitis).  The office visit was $R200, a price which included a follow-up visit to discuss the results of the tests.

The prescribed tests were to be done at a nearby clinic and involved both blood and urine tests.  This turned out to be another $R260.  My poor Portuguese led me to believe the original $R200 included everything.  I could have had free HIV testing on AIDS Awareness Day back in the U.S., but I wound up paying $R460 in Brazil in the end for my clean slate.

The test results were made available via the internet, and that was easy and convenient at least, and with everything negative there was no reason to return to the doctor.

Anyway, it’s my understanding the doctors in Brazil are good but that there’s a two-tiered system similar to the U.S.  That is, expensive quality private care and then free or cheap hospital and clinic visits with long waits and less personal service.