Health care systems in Mexico and Puerto Peñasco

Mexican citizens have their medical expenses covered through the national socialized health care system. Despite many of the financial burdens that are lifted from citizens with this system, many are left in a position where seeking and/or acquiring medical services in a timely manner is very tough.

Many of the non-affluent denizens of Puerto Peñasco do not have reliable vehicles. For people such as single working mothers, being able to get off work, walk with children to the closest medical facility, get an appointment and attempt to arrange the same journey again in the hopes that the doctor does not get called out of the office early, can be nearly impossible.

Like many other countries, Mexico has a limit of the number of patients a physician can see in a day, to keep the physician from fatigue and providing inadequate care. In Puerto Peñasco, a large population of approximately 60,000 combined with a limited number of physicians often leads to people having to wait long periods of time for treatment, especially if they need referrals for specialists like cardiologists. Saul Veladiz mentioned that getting check-ups following broken bones can take up to six months.

If a person sticks with the public health care system, they must wait to be seen. If their ailments are serious enough to warrant specialist treatment, they must travel over five hours to the nearest hospital in Hermosillo that can treat them. This leaves many residents with medical ailments that can prove life altering without proper treatment.

Medical facilities in Mexico fall into one of three tiers of service:

•Common health clinics: preventative care, check-ups, prenatal care, dental, medical prescription services, etc.

•General hospital services: broken bones, births, stitches, burns, and can manage most traumatic injuries

• Trauma/Specialists center: cardiology, neurology, level three burns, etc.

Currently, Puerto Peñasco has no Level Three facilities, so patients must face the long ride for trauma services if in an emergency.

There are multiple private health care and dental practices open in Puerto Peñasco, usually seen by expatriates, tourists and the locals who may have enough to pay for a quicker treatment than going through the rigors of the public system.