Rest assured, medical care is OK here

We've come to the conclusion that, as long as nothing too serious is wrong with you, India is not a bad place to be sick -- if you have the money to pay for the best treatment. And, by US standards at least, that isn't really a lot of money. E.g., my "deluxe" prenatal checkups are Rs 500 ($10) per visit with no insurance. Last night's trip to the children's ER was Rs 320 ($7).

Before you get concerned, William didn't really have an emergency. He'd had diarrhea all day and then developed goopy eyes. He was uncomfortable enough that we decided to see the doctor on the way home from our July 4th potluck. As suspected (and also backed up by a call to Dr Aunt Beth), the two symptoms were totally unrelated. But, 20 minutes later we walked out of one of the top to children's ERs in the country (according to the medical officer in Delhi) with conjunctivitis confirmed and antibiotic eye drops (which cost a whopping Rs 12 - yes, medicine for less than $0.50).

We're keeping our fingers crossed we won't have to test the advanced medical care, but for day-to-day stuff, we've been satisfied with the care - and the cost.