Medical Exam Peru - DON"T USE DR OSCAR SITU

[justsomebody 0]

If you are in Peru and trying to decide which doctor to use for your medical exam, I advise you to NOT use doctor Oscar Situ. We did use doctor Oscar Situ because of our schedule and needing the medical exam on a certain day and 3 bad things happened:

1. Even though my fiancee had her vaccine records that clearly showed she already had the MMR(Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) as well as Varicella, this doctor still gave her these vaccines again! Varicella is for the chickenpox. My fiancee already had the actual illness for the chickpox and has the scars to prove it, as well as the vaccine. Her vaccines are current, both April of this year (only 4 months old).

2. We think that we were over-charged for the Human Papillomavirus vaccine, 500 soles. We went back to the office and complained about receiving 2 un-needed vaccines and were given 200 soles back. So the total amount paid for the 3 vaccines was 700 soles. After the refund for 2 un-needed vaccines, we ended up paying 500 soles for 1 dose of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine.

3. The woman that draws blood doesn't know what she is doing. She put the band around my fiancee's arm to find the vein and was waiting for the tube to fill with blood without removing the band on the arm. She left a bruise about the size of 2 quarters on my fiancee's arm. I believe that kind of bruising is an indicator that the nurse does not know how to take blood.

If you must see Oscar Situ I would recommend:

1. Get a list of prices for the vaccines needed (if you can manage to get this at all)

2. Make sure you understand what vaccines they are going to give before you let them be given. They obviously don't care about looking at the vaccine records before giving the vaccines.

3. Make sure that your receipt list each vaccine given and the individual price. The receipt I was given only said "Vacunas" with 1 price, 700 soles. When the receipt is like this, it makes it easier for this clinic to lie about the cost of individual vaccines.

The CDC website states that the cost of the Human Papillomavirus should be about $125 per dose. So, I do not understand why the price in Peru would be closer to $180 for 1 dose. Calling the other 2 doctors on the list, we found out the cost is close to 400 soles.

This doctor also told my fiancee that all 3 of the vaccines she was given were together as 1 vaccine, like the MMR vaccine. Hmmm, that is strange, since she had 3 separate shots, 1 for each vaccine.

In my opinion, Dr Oscar Situ should lose is ability to service for the United States Embassy.

[Mononoke28 135]

Do you think it's possible to get the vaccines at another place where they're not so costly before the medical? It's the same drill with both doctors in Colombia where they even tell you the vaccines you got 2-3 weeks before the medical are "too old" and then make you get them again at their office, paying their prices. Some people then choose to go to places like the Red Cross where you can get the same vaccines for less money in most cases.

Diana

[payxibka 10,045]

Adding insult to injury would be that a K-1 has no vaccination requirement..

[HAL 9000 96]

Contact the US Consul. Medical malfeasance is no laughing matter. Orient the medical staff at these practices that there are others out there telling their stories about this corruption.

Critical mass can be reached for better action if enough people flood Consuls with complaints of these sorts.

[justsomebody 0]

Yes, my fiancee did get all the vaccines at a local clinic to try and avoid the higher cost of the embassy listed clinics. She had her official vaccine record with her showing all the vaccines, but the doctor still gave her 2 that she already had. That is just wrong. When we went back to demand our money back for these vaccines at first the doctor was trying to say that they were needed. I think he looked at me (the american) and realized that we were not going to play games, and he quickly changed what he was saying in mid-sentence.

Do you think it's possible to get the vaccines at another place where they're not so costly before the medical? It's the same drill with both doctors in Colombia where they even tell you the vaccines you got 2-3 weeks before the medical are "too old" and then make you get them again at their office, paying their prices. Some people then choose to go to places like the Red Cross where you can get the same vaccines for less money in most cases.

Diana

[justsomebody 0]

Yes, I have read and heard this as well, that the vaccines are only "required" for AOS. So if this is known, then why are most all people getting these vaccines at the medical exam for the K1 visa? Did your fiancee/fiance get a K1 visa without completing the vaccines? Does anyone know someone that did not get these vaccines for a K1?

My thought was, "well she is going to need the vaccines anyway, so she might as well get them in Peru where they are cheaper". So, she had all of the vaccines done except for the Human papillomavirus prior to the medical exam.

Adding insult to injury would be that a K-1 has no vaccination requirement..

[justsomebody 0]

Do you have any ideas of who the "correct person" to contact at the local consul would be?

During the interview I did tell the experience with the clinic during the medical exam and the interviewer stated that she was not a doctor so she can not tell if the doctor is wrong or right.

Of course I have no way to argue the cost of the vaccines unless the local embassy provides a price chart so I know what the correct price is.

I will research and find the correct contact, because what this clinic did was just plain wrong.

Nobody should be caused additional pain in their arms by getting un-needed vaccines by a clinic that either can't read a vaccine record or just wants to rob their patients.

Contact the US Consul. Medical malfeasance is no laughing matter. Orient the medical staff at these practices that there are others out there telling their stories about this corruption.

Critical mass can be reached for better action if enough people flood Consuls with complaints of these sorts.

[payxibka 10,045]

Did your fiancee/fiance get a K1 visa without completing the vaccines?

Both wife and son received there visas without any vaccinations.... My son updated his here before AOS.

Cost is always a consideration and if you can save a buck or two then do it... but in the end did you?

The embassy is not going to dictate the price the clinic charges for vaccinations... If the embassy receives sufficient complaints about the service provider they will simply will end there relationship.

Edited September 4, 2008 by fwaguy

[aravis227 1]

Did your fiancee/fiance get a K1 visa without completing the vaccines?

Both wife and son received there visas without any vaccinations.... My son updated his here before AOS.

Cost is always a consideration and if you can save a buck or two then do it... but in the end did you?

The embassy is not going to dictate the price the clinic charges for vaccinations... If the embassy receives sufficient complaints about the service provider they will simply will end there relationship.

I believe it's in the process of changing and they are slowly switching consulates/embassys over, so some require it and eventually ALL of them will. When my fiance in Canada (will be going to the Vancouver consulate) received his packet 3, it indicated that he was required to have current vaccinations or they would not issue the visa.

[justsomebody 0]

The London embassy shows a fee list for vaccines: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/vaccfees.html

So, the setting of vaccine prices must be embassy independent.

I believe since the embassy does set the fee for the medical exam, the fees for the vaccines should also be fixed. This would eliminate the potential fraud against US citizens by foreign clinics. This just makes good sense to me. Why deal with complaints to remove a provider when complaints about cost can be eliminated by setting the price and making it known? Pro-active versus Re-active is always better in this situation.

Did your fiancee/fiance get a K1 visa without completing the vaccines?

Both wife and son received there visas without any vaccinations.... My son updated his here before AOS.

Cost is always a consideration and if you can save a buck or two then do it... but in the end did you?

The embassy is not going to dictate the price the clinic charges for vaccinations... If the embassy receives sufficient complaints about the service provider they will simply will end there relationship.

[jm&mcs 2]

For those of you having medicals in Lima. My husband had his medical with Dr. Nora Lari. He liked her very much. I did not go to the medical, because I didn't want anything inflated because I was a gringa. Well, he had to receive only two shots, tetanus and MMR. They were 48 soles each. He requested Hep B since he had started the series earlier. It was 49 soles. All 3 shots totaled 145 soles. If he only got the two, it would have been 96 soles. We also had to get the results earlier than they wanted to have them ready. Although, when we made the appointment, they said two days. We got the results when we needed them and we even forgot to bring the receipt.

I would highly recommend Dr. Nora Lari. She was honest and we felt that we were treated fairly.

[HAL 9000 96]

Do you have any ideas of who the "correct person" to contact at the local consul would be?

During the interview I did tell the experience with the clinic during the medical exam and the interviewer stated that she was not a doctor so she can not tell if the doctor is wrong or right.

Of course I have no way to argue the cost of the vaccines unless the local embassy provides a price chart so I know what the correct price is.

I will research and find the correct contact, because what this clinic did was just plain wrong.

Nobody should be caused additional pain in their arms by getting un-needed vaccines by a clinic that either can't read a vaccine record or just wants to rob their patients.

Contact the US Consul. Medical malfeasance is no laughing matter. Orient the medical staff at these practices that there are others out there telling their stories about this corruption.

Critical mass can be reached for better action if enough people flood Consuls with complaints of these sorts.

I think this is an uphill process but not impossible. Since I am not in Colombia anymore I can't get enough critical momentum from people still going through the embassy process to make a fuss. Many are concerned it will affect adversely their K-1/K-3 processes.

Obviously its an election year and getting Congressional help is difficult... but its a start. In the meantime if you return to Peru I'd try visiting the Embassy (make an appointment with Consular services)... you may have to ask for whomever serves as an Ombudsman there.

Some documentation to bring along would be (search my username in the forum's search function for links) the CDC vaccination guidelines for vaccine intervals and age-appropriate vaccines, as well as the intended number of dosages per vaccines. This should help at the Embassy since its not some cockamaney story.

Also, try to document the transactions with the MDs. How much they charge, what they say when they state that previous vaccines within their validity period are somehow not valid and require a repetition. This should help at the Embassy.

But the difficult part will be to set up some kind of petition with people down there that are and have gone through the process. This way you can get other US citizens that can vouch for their significant others' being mischarged and having been technically prone to medical malfeasance.

I know that in Colombia this was an issue and still may be. Some of our more recent beneficiaries that have gone trhough there have done the 2-3 week previous to the medical in the case they do need the shots... but that does not mean the corruption will stop as long as they can continue acting this way in such a monopoly that is sanctioned by the ignorance of the Embassy.

Keep me up to date via PM if need be in case you get a shot at doing any of this.

[payxibka 10,045]

The London embassy shows a fee list for vaccines: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/vaccfees.html

So, the setting of vaccine prices must be embassy independent.

I believe since the embassy does set the fee for the medical exam, the fees for the vaccines should also be fixed. This would eliminate the potential fraud against US citizens by foreign clinics. This just makes good sense to me. Why deal with complaints to remove a provider when complaints about cost can be eliminated by setting the price and making it known? Pro-active versus Re-active is always better in this situation.

Actually I think you ahve it bassackwards... the embassy is simply reporting the current fee schedule from the provider....

Pro-active vs. re-active? Please, we are talking about an agency within the US government

[justsomebody 0]

The London embassy shows a fee list for vaccines: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/visa/iv/vaccfees.html

So, the setting of vaccine prices must be embassy independent.

I believe since the embassy does set the fee for the medical exam, the fees for the vaccines should also be fixed. This would eliminate the potential fraud against US citizens by foreign clinics. This just makes good sense to me. Why deal with complaints to remove a provider when complaints about cost can be eliminated by setting the price and making it known? Pro-active versus Re-active is always better in this situation.

Actually I think you ahve it bassackwards... the embassy is simply reporting the current fee schedule from the provider....

Pro-active vs. re-active? Please, we are talking about an agency within the US government

A fee schedule from the provider or from the embassy. Either way this solves the problem of knowing what should be paid for the vaccines. It would be rather difficult for the provider to over-charge when the fees are known and posted as they are for the London embassy. And, if the provider did over-charge, the embassy would know because the fees are posted on the embassy's website.

All I am suggesting is that it is a benefit to the petitioner to have known fees by both the embassy and the provider.

As far as pro-active, this is a mute point since we are already dealing with a re-active situation. None the less, hopefully my actions can prevent others from dealing with the same problems.

[payxibka 10,045]

A fee schedule from the provider or from the embassy. Either way this solves the problem of knowing what should be paid for the vaccines. It would be rather difficult for the provider to over-charge when the fees are known and posted as they are for the London embassy. And, if the provider did over-charge, the embassy would know because the fees are posted on the embassy's website.

All I am suggesting is that it is a benefit to the petitioner to have known fees by both the embassy and the provider.

As far as pro-active, this is a mute point since we are already dealing with a re-active situation. None the less, hopefully my actions can prevent others from dealing with the same problems.

don't get me wrong, I am not disagreeing with you but the use of over simplified logic in a beaureaucratic environment simply does not work.... besides

in a hyper inflationary economy, it would be near impossible to keep the website up to date....