WAIW | Seeing an Eye Doctor in Vietnam

I don’t know if I would call today’s outing an adventure since it wasn’t exactly the most exciting thing one can do in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, but it certainly was an experience. To be honest, I could have gone to an eye hospital that caters to foreigners (or at least those from the West), but my wallet prefers the local option and since I’m lucky enough to have a patient partner who can translate, this is what I’ve chosen to do a few different times when it’s involved medical stuff.

Needless to say, I’ve had a number of interesting experiences going this route, and I actually wrote about two of them for the national paper, Tuoi Tre, earlier this month. Personally, I can’t imagine doing this sort of thing without someone to translate as both the facilities and the staff are generally not set-up to deal with folks who don’t speak Vietnamese. That being said, I have had a few doctors and other health workers speak English with me, so it’s not impossible. It’s just not something you should expect.

Outside of the English issue, I have found all of my experiences to be relatively quick compared to some visits I’ve had to doctors back home, especially when it comes to requiring further testing. Without fail, so far all of my tests have been done within the facilities where I saw the doctor, and I was able to do everything within that day. Given how many times my friends and family have had to wait months back home in Canada to meet specialists, get certain tests, and wait for results, this is something about the Vietnamese system that impresses me for sure.

Most importantly, and today was a great example of it, I’ve always felt like the people who were dealing with me actually wanted to find an answer to my problem and were not trying to rush me in and out of their office. Although I’m incredibly grateful for the healthcare system I have access to when I’m home for many reasons, overworked doctors pushing patients through is certainly something I think most Canadians would criticize our current system for.

Obviously, no system is perfect, and I’m sure locals could give me plenty of things about Vietnam’s system that could use some work, but so far I’m happy with it. To get an idea for yourself, check-out today’s WAIW episode below.

Photo: Hong Van