We signed Geneva up for SUAT Emergencia Móvil service yesterday.
She had pinkeye again and I also wanted to get her ears checked since she had an ear infection last month. We did not like the idea of spending another 4 hours and U$S 120 at the Hospital Britanico, so we started looking into the alternative – one of the many Emergency/Urgent care services in Montevideo.
These companies offer Policlínicas (urgent care clinics) as well as ambulance service and in-home doctor care. It is essentially a Minute-Clinic with actual doctors on staff who also make house calls and can bring you to the hospital if needed.
We were thrilled with the service at the SUAT Policlínica just a few blocks from our house. Within 10 minutes of arrival, we were done with the sign-up paperwork, paid and in an exam room seeing a doctor. We had a quick exam and we were out again in about 30 minutes total, prescription in hand. Brad ran down the block in the other direction to the pharmacy, stopped to get some empanadas and was back with the eye drops and lunch in hand after only 10 more minutes (he claims it was only 6 minutes, but I digress…)
The amazing thing is the cost: about U$S 10.50/month for full-service membership. Yes, that is about $125 per year for emergency and urgent care. We got in a 6-month promo, which is only approx $5.30 per month ($ 127 pesos).
Many families that we’ve talked to here have this type emergency service membership for the entire family, in addition to their hospital or mutualista membership. Others have the additional emergency service just for the kids – for those unexpected “kid” incidents.
We’ll probably just keep it for Geneva right now. It’s the peace of mind knowing that we can call in the middle of the night and a doctor will come over, all paid with our monthly membership.
A few of the most popular Emergency service providers are SUAT, SEMM, UCM, and Emergencia UNO.
*We did learn at the SUAT Policlínica that we did not need a prescription for Geneva’s eye drops, but with a prescription, we can get a discount at the pharmacy. We may need to check that out because unfortunately, now I have pinkeye as well ;(
Sorry to hear about the pink-eye–ugh. Glad to hear about the emergency service, though–sounds like a must-have for us once we get to MVD.
Sounds like a great service and a fantastic price. Do you have any idea if these services are available outside of MVD?
Hi Eric, thanks for the note. I believe the services I listed are just in Montevideo, but since we’re new to the world of emergency care services here, I don’t know for sure. Let me look into it and we can get back to you.
Hi! This is the first time I comment on your blog, althought I’ve been visiting it for a few weeks. I love it
By the way, I’m uruguayan, but I don’t really know if the services you talk about are for the entire country (I believe it’s only for Montevideo and Costa de Oro only, at least those companies you say)
P.S: sorry if I was wrong with my english. Don’t kill me xD
Thanks for the note and the input Alfonso! Your English is great (much better than my Spanish, although I’m learning.) I figured that these companies might just be for Montevideo.
I love that Uruguayans are finding this blog interesting. Please correct us if we have incorrect information. We welcome all of your comments! You are the experts about this country. We are just learning about it for the first time. Thanks again-
Hi again! xD Yes, I’m uruguayan, but that doesn’t mean that I am an expert about my country or something like that (in fact, I’m not. There’s a lot that I don’t know about it, but I’ll try to help you as much as I can with that xD)
Thanks Lisa. I agree with Alfonso..love this blog! My family is considering a move to UY and first hand information about daily life there is hard to find. Keep up the great work!
By the way, here is a curious fact: I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but there is a commercial that say that UCM was the first emergencia móvil (sorry, I don’t know how it is exactly in english xD) in the world.
Hi Lisa,
I just stumbled onto your blog and am finding A LOT of helpful details on here, so thanks so much for posting. I looove your writing style and quirky tidbits like Brad and the empanadas! Too much!
I’m an expat of Uruguayan decent and have lots of family and friends here, so I have a bit of an edge, but I still feel like a stranger when it comes to certain things like getting medical care! So I applaud you and your family and well just wanted to say thanks!
Hope to catch up with you at one of the Sunday expat lunches!
Best,
Monica