O Meu Diário de Coimbra

Best Healthcare In The World

Time for one of those Look How Good European Healthcare Is Compared To America’s stories.

While I don’t have panic attacks often and have plenty of Lorazepam when I do — my anxiety only kicks in when I remind myself I have no family here and don’t know the language . . . and when I worry about having a seizure on a walk around the Mondego River and what action others on the path will take on behalf of a man in a Baruch College ball cap and Louisville Black Caps t-shirt, writhing at their feet — I decided to take the prescription bottle (with my doctor’s name, address, phone, the dosage, number of refills left) to a neighborhood pharmacy just in case. While I have private health insurance in Portugal ($60/month) and am waiting for the national health plan to begin ($0/month), I don’t yet have a Portuguese doctor.

I figure that could be a problem.