Going to the doctor in Denmark

Aarhus weather keeps going from sunny to rainy and cold in what seems like seconds. (It is a port city and weather changes blow in off the sea very quickly.) So I had a cold for over a week that seems to have settled in as a sore throat. Time to see the doctor.

We had gone earlier to the part of city hall that registers people for medical and social security benefits and signed up. They wanted to see our work visas to see that we were entitled to benefits -- fair enough. They also oddly wanted to see our marriage certificate, since we said we were married, but that is back home in Texas. Sandy asked if we couldn't just change the forms to say we were living together, which earned a reproachful stare. But they decided to let it slide since we are only here until December. They also signed us up for a doctor, kind of like the primary care doctor in an HMO, who is a couple of blocks from our apartment.

So armed with the equivalent of a social security card, we both went to the doctor, since Sandy's throat is a bit scratchy, too. (The actual medical benefits card showed up later that day. Mail is very efficient here.)

Medical systems reflect societies and cultures in an interesting way. The doctor was very low key. Listened to my chest through a stethoscope, checked to see if I had any swelling or pain swallowing. Decided that I had a viral infection that one can't do much about. Didn't think Sandy even had that.

Sandy kind of wanted to get both our throats swabbed for strep, which Americans have been taught to worry about. The doctor's eyebrow went up a bit and he remarked how few people get strep, that it almost never turns into rheumatic fever, which we had grown up being told to worry about. He obviously thought it silly but he did swab the throats and even had little kits that gave immediate, negative feedback. An American doctor might still have thrown some antibiotic at it, but this one said to get back in touch in a month, if it was still bugging me.

He did want some advice about where to visit in a three week vacation to California that he was about to do. Nice guy, terminally low key.

I told my Danish colleague Kirsten, who has lived in Austin before, about it. She was very amused and recalled her own surprises over how doctors and clinics do things in the States--- like all the extra vaccinations her kids had to do there for public schools.

The Danish system seems to cover everyone really well. We had coverage here almost immediately, while that is a big problem for visitors to the USA. (We have one American acquaintance here who is likely to retire here because she is worried about getting health care in the USA.) But they are also more parsimonious with procedures and medicine. The impression I get is that they think the U.S. provides inadequate coverage for the poor and uninsured, while it overdoes coverage for those better off and insured. Very interesting. They might be right.