Qatari Medical System

I have zero faith in the medical system here in Qatar. I've had an ongoing issue for the last couple of months that I had already been to the doctor once for but had to go back last week for some symptoms that were starting to come back. In all actuality, I think my bigger issue is with my insurance company.

I started with my new company in October and received my insurance card in mid-December. No big deal, I didn't have and medical problems the first couple of month so I was fine with that. So the last week of December I start having some problems and decide to get checked out. First off, it took the hospital two weeks to get the results of a urine and blood test. The two weeks between the visits were pretty excruciating at certain times of the day, but I dealt with them.

I go back to the doctor for the results and hopefully some relief two weeks later (roughly Jan 11) and find out at reception that my insurance card has expired... Awesome, I think. I had the card for two weeks and it expired, great planning insurance guys.

So I have to pay about $100 just to see the doc to get my results. I get the prescription and find out I have to pay $300 more for the meds. Again, awesome! At this point I don't really care because I really just want the medication so it doesn't feel like I'm peeing through a fireant hole (TMI probably). Stupid UTI.

So everything is great after a few days, but then symptoms start coming back about 10 days ago. I stop back by the doctor with my new insurance card in hand (which looks like it was run through a grinder before I got it so nothing on the card is legible) and get some stronger medication prescribed.

Guess what, the pharmacy was out of everything I was prescribed. So I go to about 11 different pharmacies over the next couple of days and not a single one accepts my trustworthy Saudi Arabian Insurance card.

Finally, about 5 days after the doctor visit I find a pharmacy that will accept the card. So the burka clad girl behind the counter fetches my pills for me and takes them to the pharmacist. I guess there is an issue with prescriptions being more than 3 days old and the insurance company paying for them, so the guy has to make a call to verify that the company will pay. After talking to about 4 different people and taking a 10 minute "inshallah" (God willing time) break I finally get fed up and tell him I'm just going to pay for the stupid pills. Insert confusion on his part.

Apparently it is unheard of for someone to want to pay for their own medication rather than wait a week while phone calls go back and forth to figure out if an insurance company can cover some pills that cost a whopping $11. Yes, $11. If I had known that the day they were prescribed, I would have taken the loss just to save myself the time and sanity of trying to track down somewhere to use my insurance.

I guess I just miss the relative simplicity of the military medical system, even though all they ever prescribed was Motrin.

Goodnight.