Medical Care in Chile

Hi
My father is going to Chile for a six week trip with other family members next year. We are just looking into insurance but thought we might as well find out about the medical system there.

Is it any good?
Any tips on dealing with them. My sister and bil can speak a bit of spanish as they live there at the moment. Not totally fluent yet i presume.

My father is 80. Generally fairly fit and strong but has a few health issues. Prostate shouldn't cause any issues, gallstones could flare up if he eats a fatty rich meal. Is the meat food fatty rich? Can he easily avoid eating a lot of fat in his meals.

Probably the biggest risk with dad could be some sort of musculoskeletal injury as they will be doing hikes and he's got to carry his bag about.

of course anything could happen.

Thanks

Medical attention is excellent in the private sector in Santiago. It is very good in the private sector in larger cities throughout Chile. In any major hospital in Santiago there will be English speaking staff, less likely in more remote places. He will have to have very good travel insurance as paying out of pocket in the private sector is expensive. I suggest you get it with an evacuation clause. I imagine it will be expensive because of his age but will be a lot cheaper than trying to deal with those things without insurance.

I suggest you get his doctor to draw up a brief evaluation of his medical conditions which will help if he has any health issues while he is here.

I also suggest you keep the hiking to areas within a reasonable distance of medical help.

As for food, it is up to him what he eats. Everything is available, fatty and not fatty.

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