Healthcare facilities and pharmacies in Medellín and Colombia

In Medellin, there are two well-known healthcare clinics: Clinica Medellin and Clinica Las Vegas.

Clinica Medellin has two locations ("sedes"), one in the El Poblado neighborhood [Address: Calle 7 #39-290; Telephone: (57) (4) 311-2800] and the other in the center of the city ("Centro") [Address: Calle 53 #46-38; Telephone: (57) (4) 356-8585]. Clinica Las Vegas has one location ("sede") in the El Poblado neighborhood [Address: Calle 2 Sur 46-55; Telephone: (57) (4) 315-9000].

If you have a medical emergency, the emergency or urgent care department is often called "Urgencias".

In the United States, medication is most often purchased at health care facilities and chain stores, such as CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart.

In Colombia, medication is most often purchased at health care facilities and at pharmacies ("farmacias"). Pharmacies are easy to find. In large cities, such as Medellin, there seems to be a pharmacy on every few blocks. And, pharmacies can be found in malls ("centros comerciales"; e.g., "Oviedo", "Santa Fe" and "Monterrey" in Medellin), and supermarkets (e.g., "Carrefour" and "Éxito" in Medellin). Pharmacies are commonly small stores, often a counter only, that sell medication (e.g., prescription and over the counter drugs), nutritional supplements (e.g., vitamins) and beauty/personal hygiene products (e.g., soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and similar items).  Examples of pharmacy chains in Medellin include "Pasteur" and "Copidrogas".

As in the United States, the employees in Colombian pharmacies seem quite knowledgeable. If you have a question, such as, “What should I take if I am experiencing this problem?” or "How often should I take this?” or “Which of the following has less side affects?" or "Can I take this at the same time as this?", Colombian pharmacists will very often be happy to assist you. Of course, exercise caution when taking advice from anyone other than your health care provider.

If you need to find a pharmacy in a city or small town in Colombia, you can often ask, "¿Dónde está una farmacia?", and someone will be able to tell you where a nearby pharmacy is.  

Summary:

1. Two well-known health care facilities in Medellin are "Clinica Medellin" and "Clinica Las Vegas".
2. The emergency or urgent care department of health care facilities is often called "Urgencias" (pronounced "or-hen-see-us").
3.  Pharmacies are called "Farmacias" (pronounced "far – moss – ee – us").
4. If you need to find a pharmacy, you can often ask, "¿Dónde está una farmacia?".

Photos - Clinics y pharmacies in Medellin, Antioquia

Comments

[Canadian Pharmacy]

The medical world does not have the equivalent of a restaurant menu or an auto mechanic’s estimate. Pharmacy does helps a lot