Medical Tourism in Mexico: Your Guide to Clinic Visits & Diagnostic Services
From Medications to Imaging: Navigating Appointments for Bloodwork, X-rays, and More - PT.1
Medical tourism in Mexico has gained a lot of traction in recent years. It started with people simply going on vacation to beach towns and buying stuff at local pharmacies. Now it's morphed into entire industries where third parties have packages for clients to come across the border, get treatments, and go back home. In some cases, even insurance companies are taking patients across the border to fill prescriptions.
This day and age a lot of people want to take control of their own health but are extremely limited by their countries s’s system.
Others are simply already living in Mexico and want to learn to navigate the system a little bit
Living in Mexico for multiple years, I personally don't think you need to hire a third party to do any of this.
This guide provides all the information you need to understand the intricacies of clinic visits, diagnostic services, and pharmacies.
We will cover:
Clinics:
Finding the clinic for your needs, including services like bloodwork, X-rays & MRIs, nutritionist consultations, etc.
Scheduling appointments
Typical costs
Receiving results
Pharmacies:
Finding the pharmacy you need
Typical costs
Logistics of getting medications
Staying safe
Bringing your prescription from the US
Clinic Visits in Mexico: There are at least a dozen clinics in Mexico - but I am going to highlight three popular ones with the easiest experiences:
Farmacia San Pablo - https://www.miconsultoriomx.com/mi-consultorio San Pablo is less a clinic, but more an extended pharmacy. Locations will often be large, like 2-3x the size of Walgreens or CVS, with a slightly bigger clinic. Here you can easily get a medical consult. These will typically cost anywhere between 20-80 pesos depending on the locations. Additionally, you can get basic services such as blood pressure measurement, blood glucose measurement, medical certificates, and intramuscular injection application for anywhere between an extra 10-100 pesos. In the event you have a current prescription from your country, you can schedule one of these consults to get it certified for the Mexican version (while most pharmaceuticals can be purchased over the counters, some things like antidepressants and amphetamines will often need prescriptions). They will also conduct nutrition analysis. Areas such as weight loss or pre and post-diabetic diets have consultations here. They do offer lab work, but they are not my first recommendation simply because I notice their prices vary in different locations and they aren't as transparent about it.
Chopo Medical Laboratory -
http://www.chopo.com.mx
They are typically located in nicer parts of town. Smaller buildings typically and much higher prices. I will talk about prices in the next sections, but I will say Chopo often be double or triple the price. There is nothing wrong with these clinics - I've never seen one be busy. You could get away with not having an appointment, walk in during the morning and be seen within 20 minutes. If you haven't been in Mexico very long, and you want to visit the closest area, this is a great choice. For example - I had a basic blood check-up done there for about 1000 pesos. That's a little over 50 dollars and my results were returned within 2 days. This is extremely inexpensive in comparison to many countries, including the fact that you don't need a referral from another doctor.
Salud Digna -
https://www.salud-digna.org/
This is where I want to spend the bulk of my time explaining. Salud Dignas are what I would call community health centers" or "community clinics." There are typically located in lower-income areas. I admit, the first time I went to one of these, I asked a friend to go with me. I wasn't extremely familiar with the area and thought, maybe it might be sketchy. To this day, I have not found one to be sketchy. That being said, I consider this the best place to go.
Process 1 is to go to their website (if you're using Google Chrome, you can easily translate the page). They have a section for literally everything. Lab work, X-rays, MRIs. If you need an extra pair of glasses, you can literally get an eye exam and a pair for classes for about 30 bucks. The process for the appointments is very straightforward. If you don't already have a location saved, I could go on Google Maps and type in Salud Dignas to see the locations nearest to you, check the address, and put it into the second tab for "Ubica tu clinica" / choose your clinic. Simply because you're likely not familiar with the areas by simply looking at the drop-down.
From there, you can check the "precios y preparaciones" tab (prices and preparations) and either type in or use the drop-down block to find information for the exam you want. Or, in the "agenda tu cita" schedule your appointment tab, you can choose what you want along with the dates of your appointment. The last step allows you to pay for your appointment up front - I suggest you do this online so you can secure your place. Sometimes the clinic will be busier and walking in will put you in the back of the queue. What's great is the appointment will not only email you but send you a message through WhatsApp with a QR code that you scan on entry to the clinic. For blood work. You don't pay in advance, you simply preregister and walk in during the specified times. You'll still get a QR code, but you will pay on arrival. https://www.salud-digna.org/precios-preparaciones/seleccionar/
Going to your appointment - Assuming you have a level say, 1.5 worth of Spanish, you should be able to go to your appointment easily. If you don't feel confident, ask a Spanish-speaking friend. A version of HIPAA does exist in Mexico, but it's not uncommon to be accompanied by friends. I have taken non-Spanish-speaking friends and family members to their appointments and simply told the staff that they don't speak Spanish well and you will translate. It's never been an issue for me to stand there where blood is drawn or sit behind the window for X-rays and MRIs. If you don't have any of these resources, Google Translate will work, but it will slow you down, and if you might not have cell phone service in these buildings. Plan accordingly.
WhatsApp appointment - What I love about Salud Digna is that you can also make your appointments directly through WhatsApp. Go to their website to find the number or click the portal from their website. You can quickly type menu, schedule your appointments, and get a QR code through the app right there. The only thing you can't do is pay ahead. You would be shown the prices. This takes all of 5 minutes to do.
The same bloodwork that cost 1000 Pesos + in Chop cost $450 Peso at Salud Digna
Simply getting a Total and Free Test exam at Chopo Cost 2500 press.
While a full Male Hormonal Test : TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone), T3 TOTAL, T4 TOTAL, LH (Luteinizing Hormone), FSH (Follicle-Stimulating Hormone), PROLACTIN, TOTAL TESTOSTERONE, CORTISOL, FREE THYROXINE INDEX, IODINE PROTEIN, and TUP (Thyroid Uptake). Is less than half the price
Another example is a set of x-rays. Salud Digna would do them for 980 pesos while Chopo was twice the cost.
Results:
I understand this might be a sensitive topic for some, but this is just how things are in Mexico. For all of these clinics, you can typically have your results texted to your WhatsApp or sent to your email. Specifically with Salud Digna appointments, you receive a receipt with your appointment number on it. You can use the automated system to submit that number and your administrative data, and it will return the PDF document of your results, and/or any doctor's notes given. The longest time it's ever taken to receive this information has been three days. Often enough, the information is received by the end of the day. * Exams taken at 10 AM usually yield results sent by around 8 PM.
Pharmacies in Mexico:
San Pablo - typically the biggest and most expensive. As mentioned before San Pablo is the biggest of the pharmacies - Yes, you can get medicine there, but it's also a good place if you're looking for specific brands of supplements and vitamins. The prices will be higher because there will be more brand names.
Benevidas - usually a smaller place, you can find them in lots of neighborhoods. They'll sell a mix of brand names and generics.
Similares - The pretty much Generics of everything. If you know what you need, google the medication name (possible a wiki article), switch it to Spanish to get the Spanish name and tell them what you need.
Rappi - One of the best things about Latin America is Rappi. It's essentially Uber Eats, but for everything. Groceries, delivered food, but also pharmacies. If you don't want to go in person to a pharmacy, or if the pharmacy is out of stock, just type in the medication on the Rappi pharmacy section. Not only will you see multiple pharmacies, but you'll be able to see price differences. These will typically deliver to your house within an hour. Some of them arrive within 30 minutes or less. I have almost never gone directly to a pharmacy simply because everything can be purchased and delivered directly.
Beach towns - I know many readers will go to Mexican travel destinations like Riviera Maya, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, and you'll see pharmacies on the street with signs selling everything from aspirin to Viagra to the top steroids. It's open and in public. Just know that many of these pharmacies operate in a grey area AND will often be more expensive. I am not saying not to go to them, but there are additional risks where some of the things they sell are skating lines of the already relaxed regulations in Mexico. Often the items they sell in those places can be bought cheaper at a more legitly operated pharmacy anyway. These places serve mostly to capture tourists.
Additional Questions: "If you buy medications in Mexico, can you bring them to the states?"
Yes, you can generally bring in a 90-day supply of medications back to the states with you. However, if you know for a fact that it's highly regulated in the US, it's advisable to do a pharmacy consult in Mexico just to get a paper prescription. For example, if you have a bottle of Adderall, it's very unlikely that you’re going to jail for it. If you have two, it's easy to keep without a prescription. However, it's not uncommon for people not to have all their prescriptions with them. Bringing back three months' worth might seem suspicious. Bringing back some heavy schedule 1 or 2 drugs, if you get searched, you’re definitely going to be a red flag without a prescription. If it's completely illegal to have in the states in general, you can't bring it back with you.
If you have additional questions, feel free to leave them as a comment or message them to me directly or in the groupchat.
I intend to write a part 2 to cover dental works and answer additional questions if there is interest.