O Meu Diário de Coimbra

Before the medication is even taken

Weeks before Melissa arrived in Coimbra — and she came last Sunday — I asked her to text me a list of her medications to see what options, if any, we’d have once she got to Portugal. At the pharmacy down the street, the pharmacist googled each of the meds and said three of the four could be easily filled, either with a copy of the written prescription from Melissa’s U.S. doctor or the empty bottles if the dosage and refill information was still visible. One, though, Vyvanse, a controlled substance without a generic equivalent, used to treat ADHD and coming in at about $1100/month, would require a prescription from a Portuguese doctor. When I told her that Melissa wasn’t a resident and wouldn’t have insurance, much less a Portuguese doctor, she said it wouldn’t be problem and that once Melissa arrived, we should go to the clinic, Sanfil Medical Group - Health Casa Santa Filomena, about a five-minute walk from the apartment and a doctor would then write the script.

“We just walk in?”

“Yes.”

“Can you do that here?”

“Yes.”

“In America, we’re told it takes months to see a doctor in Europe.”

“No, no. Maybe they tell you to come back, maybe in a week, but not months.”

“How much does a visit like that cost?” I asked.

“Maybe 50 euro.”

“5-0?” I asked. That’s about $55. “That’s it?”

“Yes,” she laughed, “without insurance. Otherwise less.”

Yeah, I thought, it’s going to be that easy.

It was that easy.