After a weekend focused on relaxation and Argentine history, we jumped back into the world of healthcare. Our first stop was Hospital Universitario Austral. It was interesting to see how this private hospital compared to the private hospitals belonging to Swiss Medical Group. As hinted in the name, Hospital Universitario Austral is very connected to Universidad Austral. It offers classes for medical students and serves as a great way for them to gain experience. Swiss Medical Group, on the other hand, is a larger company with several locations throughout the province of Buenos Aires. Swiss Medical Group also prides itself on short wait times, which are an expected benefit that comes with paying for access to the private sector. That’s why we were surprised to learn that people seeking care at HUA had to wait a month or more.
Dr. Pellizzari spoke with us about HUA and why the organization is experiencing such long wait times. While the hospital once saw a smaller number of patients, an influx of people moving to the area created issues. This high patient volume has driven up wait times and reduced the quality of care provided. These factors make their hospital become a less appealing option, especially within the private sector. Dr. Pellizzari believes that the solution to this would be to increase prices or establish copayments. This would lower the amount of people coming in for minor issues and make the volume more manageable; however, that is not possible now due to regulations and the contracts they hold.
After our discussion, we took a quick tour of the hospital and then headed to a hospice center. It was great to hear how dedicated the team was to making sure that patients could pass away at peace, whether it was arranging for a previous horseback rider to see a horse or giving a patient an opportunity to direct a choir one last time.
Our last activity of the day was meeting students from Universidad Austral! My group had a great time talking about the similarities and differences between U.S. and Argentine culture, and we even had a chance to get a snack from one of the shops on campus!
