medical care in PDC/Cancun

mellory · 07-08-2004

I'm starting to plan my annual trip trip to Playa, and this year the rest of my family wants to get in on the fun. I have a brother with a pretty complicated medical history, and you never know when a medical crisis will rear it's ugly head. Occasionly, he's had to be airlifted to University of Michigan (We live on a farm in BFO). My question is this: If something came up, is the hospital in Cancun just a sunburn/tourista treatment center or is it a full scale facility? And is there reliable ambulance service from Playa? Of course, I'm an optimist and don't think any of these concerns are necesary, but there are other members of the family who worry, pretty much all the time. I'd appreciate any input you could give.

Life_N_Cancun · 07-08-2004

Cancun is a large city . It would be pretty bad if there were no "full scale" hospitals. There are 4 "full scale" hospitals that I know of so that should not be a concern. What should be a concern is insurance. Make sure that the insurance will cover treatment for any problems in Mexico and the costs of being air lifted back to the states if need be.

mellory · 07-08-2004

Thank's for the speedy reply. You'll have to forgive me for my ignorance of Cancun's size and 'real city' status. I've never spent any time there, just see it from the sky and then speed south to PDC. I figured there must be more than hotels there, just was'nt sure how much. I'm sure your post will calm the fears of the worry-warts in the family, who are already investigating the insurance issue. Thanks for the info!

momotarosan · 07-09-2004

last year when I travelled to PDC/tulum I had a non life-threatening cardiac electrical problem that causes my heart rate to reach 210 and it won't come down without an injection of Adenosine. the betablocker I was taking wouldn't slow it down, but makes it more tolerable if it happens.

due to a previous major medical event in a foreign country...I knew that medical contigency plan had to be planned in advance. you do not want to wait precious time being transferred from one hospital to another. you must obtain the name of the hopital as well as the cell phone number of the physician that you need to contact in the event of an emergency. my plan last year was to take a cab to a small hospital in the hotel zone that had a cardiologist on staff, I don't recall the name of the hospital now. but I had the hospital name, phone number, and the cardiologist's cell phone number.

make sure you have travel medical insurance that will cover emergency air transport, possibly back to U.S. if necessary.

07-08-2004	#1 (permalink)
mellory way into it Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: michigan Posts: 155	medical care in PDC/Cancun I'm starting to plan my annual trip trip to Playa, and this year the rest of my family wants to get in on the fun. I have a brother with a pretty complicated medical history, and you never know when a medical crisis will rear it's ugly head. Occasionly, he's had to be airlifted to University of Michigan (We live on a farm in BFO). My question is this: If something came up, is the hospital in Cancun just a sunburn/tourista treatment center or is it a full scale facility? And is there reliable ambulance service from Playa? Of course, I'm an optimist and don't think any of these concerns are necesary, but there are other members of the family who worry, pretty much all the time. I'd appreciate any input you could give.

07-08-2004	#2 (permalink)
Life_N_Cancun life=playa Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Cancún, Mexico Posts: 530	Cancun is a large city . It would be pretty bad if there were no "full scale" hospitals. There are 4 "full scale" hospitals that I know of so that should not be a concern. What should be a concern is insurance. Make sure that the insurance will cover treatment for any problems in Mexico and the costs of being air lifted back to the states if need be.

07-08-2004	#3 (permalink)
mellory way into it Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: michigan Posts: 155	Thank's for the speedy reply. You'll have to forgive me for my ignorance of Cancun's size and 'real city' status. I've never spent any time there, just see it from the sky and then speed south to PDC. I figured there must be more than hotels there, just was'nt sure how much. I'm sure your post will calm the fears of the worry-warts in the family, who are already investigating the insurance issue. Thanks for the info!

07-09-2004	#4 (permalink)
momotarosan very sparkly Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 34	last year when I travelled to PDC/tulum I had a non life-threatening cardiac electrical problem that causes my heart rate to reach 210 and it won't come down without an injection of Adenosine. the betablocker I was taking wouldn't slow it down, but makes it more tolerable if it happens. due to a previous major medical event in a foreign country...I knew that medical contigency plan had to be planned in advance. you do not want to wait precious time being transferred from one hospital to another. you must obtain the name of the hopital as well as the cell phone number of the physician that you need to contact in the event of an emergency. my plan last year was to take a cab to a small hospital in the hotel zone that had a cardiologist on staff, I don't recall the name of the hospital now. but I had the hospital name, phone number, and the cardiologist's cell phone number. make sure you have travel medical insurance that will cover emergency air transport, possibly back to U.S. if necessary.

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